‘I prefer to win titles with the team ahead of individual awards.’ Lionel Messi

Messi’s quote perfectly captures the added joy success as a group and working together as a team brings as opposed to ‘solo’ achievements. I place the word solo in inverted commas, as in my experience individual achievements are very rarely solo. Success has many parents and individual achievements still require valuable support teams working behind the scenes to ensure success. So why am I beginning this week’s newsletter with a philosophy of team success? Because I am both proud and humbled to share the news that Rochedale State School was nominated and subsequently selected as a finalist in the 2021 Australian Education Awards in the category of Primary School of the Year (Government).

It is certainly something that fills me with great pride to see the success of our school recognised in such a significant manner. We are one of only eight schools across Australia selected as a finalist, three of which are from Queensland reflecting the high standard of education provided by our state education system; state schools are great schools.

Every single member of the Rochedale Team works hard to provide the very best for our students and their families, to get this recognition is a magnificent reflection of our staff, students, parent and community members who contribute so much to our school each and every day. Our school selection as a 2021 finalist was achieved through every single member of the Rochedale Team and I would like to congratulate you all. The Award ceremony will be held in Sydney on 27 August.

NAPLAN… just another week

I would like to congratulate and thank the staff and students in Years 3 and 5 in regards to their conduct during the NAPLAN testing that occurred last week. I would also like to thank the rest of the school for the support they gave while these tests were undertaken. As a school, we have been very caring in regards to how we have treated our students undertaking NAPLAN and I am confident that all students have done their best. Students constantly undertake assessment at school in many different forms, so NAPLAN is ‘just another day’ and nothing to get over anxious or lose perspective about. The best preparation for any assessment is high quality teaching and learning which is what we focus on each and every day here at Rochedale. When the NAPLAN results are back, we will analyse them to see if there is anything we can do better as a school. As a learning community, we always want to strive to improve and change our practice in response to students’ needs to ensure our students get the best opportunities for future life. Rich and focussed learning happens every day in our classrooms, and the NAPLAN results should confirm the quality of our daily teaching and learning here at Rochedale, and also ensure we continue to refine it when necessary. Well done everyone.

Enrol now for Prep in 2021

A reminder that if you have a child or children who is/are born between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017, they are eligible to be enrolled in the Prep Year in 2022. While the new school year is still two and a half terms away, it is important that we have as much information as possible to manage our enrolments – we already have over 80 students enrolled for next year and it is extremely unlikely that we will take anyone from outside of our catchment area in 2022 (please refer to the map and additional information on our webpage). Once again, we will be running a Prep transition program this year (STARs – School Transition and Readiness) beginning in Term 3. This program is provided to students within our catchment who are beginning Prep next year and helps children and parents transition and adjust to school life. Once this program begins we do not accept any late enrolments so please enrol now if you are eligible and be part of a valuable transition program and get ready for Prep 2022.

Pre-service teachers

We currently have 12 pre-service teachers from Griffith University and Christian Heritage College working at our school as part of their three-week block prac. This is the first classroom placement for these students, providing an important and critical opportunity for them to link the theory of university with the practical skills required in a classroom. The pre-service teachers are spread across all year levels and I am sure you will make these beginning teachers feel welcome when you see them around our school.

Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month

Each May, Queensland marks Domestic and Family Violence Prevention month – providing the opportunity to raise awareness of domestic and family violence, as well as the importance of building respectful relationships with staff, students and school communities. There is always something we can do to stop domestic and family violence before it starts. Actions we can all take include:

• challenging gender stereotypes,
• modelling respectful relationships,
• speaking out if you hear excuses for violence,
• celebrating positive role models.

Domestic and family violence is never acceptable – and we all have a responsibility to act.

Learner Profile: Attribute focus for the week – Risk Takers – Students should try something new or attempt something challenging in relation to their school work. This may be done as an entire class or as an individual, check with your class teacher. If it is being done individually, children should share their risk-taking goals with their class teacher.                

Have a wonderful week
Kind regards
Keith Graham
Principal

Writing at home!

We read to enjoy, to learn, to share in other’s experiences – and to enrich our lives. For a narrative to be effective, it must be more than just spelt correctly and use good punctuation.

• Original ideas are always good to read.
• The ability to engage the audience is always a good thing!
• Strong planning is vital!

Students need to think of the text as a whole before they consider the mechanics – such as spelling and punctuation.

Writing is all about connecting with others. When a reader finishes a story and laughs or cries – or sighs in wonder – then that is a great narrative.

Some possible topics to consider writing at home…

• The Horrible Holiday
• It’s Never too Late
• The Clock is Ticking
• The Big Mistake
• Courage is Contagious
• The Fall

Writing needs to be fun and engaging. Although we may sometimes not be in the mood to sit down and write…it’s important to practise these skills to become better at our writing. Using descriptive language to help engage the audience, going back and re-reading to edit and proofread, organising text to follow a particular structure and thinking about the text as a whole when considering a problem and solution…are all skills and strategies requiring practise.

We understand our lives at home can be very busy with family commitments, sport, music…and general life at home! Whether it be on a Sunday afternoon or a night where sport has been cancelled, we encourage you to take time to rehearse the skill of writing – making the text sound as interesting and engaging as possible.

Kind regards
Tom Grimson
Deputy Principal

Dear Parents/caregivers,

A key aspect of today’s modern school pedagogy and philosophy is giving students an opportunity to voice their ideas and have input into designing parts of their learning.

In most cases, in the classroom, this is guided by the questions the children ask. Teachers respond to these questions by moulding learning experiences to help the children discover the answers to their questions. Teachers may also respond to active conversations or interests the children have raised in class and again provide guided opportunities for them to find out more information about the focus of their conversations.

Another way we engage ‘student voice’ at Rochedale State School is through the annual Student Led Conferences. These are held each year towards the end of term three. They are an opportunity for the children to use their learning portfolios to walk you through their year’s learning so far. The children lead this discussion and are quite animated about engaging their parents in the conversation about their learning.

We build student voice within the school community through the proactive engagement of the Student Leaders, Music Leaders, House Captains, Student Councillors and Waste Warriors. These opportunities encourage students to suggest ideas and have input into planning, organising, leading and running small projects around the school.

The Year 6 Exhibition is another example of how we engage students in taking ownership and responsibility for their learning. This 10-week project, gives them the opportunity to inquire deeply into concepts through an individually chosen focus area. They research into their chosen topic, analyse and synthesise key elements and summarise their learning into a ‘statement of understanding’.

Under the heading student agency (voice, choice and ownership) students slowly begin to take responsibility for their learning and active participation. This in-turn helps them to become proactive positive global citizens. When students are empowered with the responsibility to voice their opinions, make decisions and solve problems for themselves, they develop a broad range of independent learning and leadership skills, develop confidence, and are more likely to be engaged. This engagement ultimately leads to achievement.

Also, by allowing students to be involved in shaping aspects of their learning they develop a greater interest and level of motivation to enhance their learning. They are encouraged to make connections within and between learning areas, as well as looking for opportunities to take appropriate positive actions.

I hope you have a great week.

Paul Kelly
PYP Coordinator

“Children Celebrating Outdoor Play & Learning”

Dear Prep – Year 2 Parents,

We are excited to invite you to celebrate Under 8’s Week – an annual Early Childhood Australia (QLD) event. 2021’s theme reflects ‘cultural change, promoting sustainability and meaningful engagement in outdoor learning environments for young children’. Rochedale’s Under 8’s Day will take place during the middle session on Friday 28 May with a range of fun and engaging activities for our youngest students to partake in. Please note the following information for our Under 8’s celebration:

When: Friday 28 May from 11:30 to 1:05pm

Where: Rochedale State School

Prep – Bottom Year 1/2 Oval       Year 1 – Tennis Courts / ROSHCA grass area

Year 2 – Top Oval             Please meet your child’s class at the cohort area at 11:30am

Who: Parents of students in Prep, Year 1 & Year 2 are invited to join their child in experiencing the planned activities and enjoy a picnic lunch to finish our festivities

Things to note:

• Please pack your child’s lunch for 2^nd break only in a named, single bag ie. Paper or zip lock bag (Morning tea can be packed as usual).

Attending parents:

• Must complete a COVID Declaration for the day. This must be completed on the morning of Under 8’s day to ensure your declaration is current. A separate form is required for each person attending. These forms will be sent home with your child in Week 6. *Please note parents are not permitted on school grounds if you have any COVID-19 symptoms, have been in contact with a suspected or diagnosed case, or yourself or a close contact is awaiting a COVID test result.
• Provide the completed COVID declaration to the class teacher upon arrival to the cohort area (listed above).
• Please maintain social distancing with others and practice safe hygiene practices such as using hand sanitiser.
• You may wish to bring a rug or blanket for our picnic lunch
• If you choose to take your child home early after the event, please see the class teacher before leaving the cohort area

Under 8s Day is always an engaging opportunity to celebrate learning and foster children’s natural curiosity. We hope you can join us!

Michelle Rossiter                                                                      Jessica Rigby

Acting Deputy Principal – Prep / Year 1                                   Deputy Principal – Year 2

Welcome to Week 5 everyone!

We trust that we have many busy readers at home recording their read books for the Premier's Reading Challenge that started last week. Students can collect additional record forms from the library or visit the Premier's Reading Challenge website to print your own.

As we count down the 15 weeks remaining in the challenge we also count down to Book Week, when as a school we celebrate our love of books, their stories and the characters in them.

This years Book Week theme is 'Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds'

In their library lessons grade 1 & 2 students will be engaging in the 6 shortlisted picture books in the running for the Children Book Council of Australia's 'Book of the Year' Competition. It's all very exciting!

Until next week.
Read on Rochedale!

Hi Rochedale State School community,

We are in week 5 already and the Tuesday lunch-time program for year 5/6 students has got off to a wonderful start. We are looking at friendships, covering topics of inclusion, putting others first, encouragement, forgiveness etc. Making friends and building relationships is all part of growing up and is crucial for everyone’s well-being. 

When your child is struggling with friendships get them to remember these three points: 

1.     There is a friend for them at RSS, every cohort has over 100 students. 

2.     Once a week talk or play with someone that they have never done so with before. 

3.     Remind them to practise kindness, respect and fun with their family first.

'Chappy Week' May 23- 30 is a School Chaplains nationwide celebration of championing school communities. We will have a gold coin donation free dress day, where students can wear yellow clothing or yellow accessories to highlight the value of friendship.

I hope this week that you find time to connect with your friends, especially if you are living away from family because if that is the case your friends become very special and very important.

Kind regards
Chappy Sue 

Sue Murphy
Chaplain
SU QLD Chaplain at Rochedale State School

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.