Our year 6 students had a wonderful camp at Tallebudgera Beach Camp.  My sincere thanks goes to the teachers that made the camp possible.  Thank you to Mrs Ros Cradden, Ms Jessica Connole, Mr Cameron Lenton,  Ms Grace Miller, Mrs Leah Newby, Mrs Ja-San Trimble, Mrs Alison Glover and Ms Michelle Rossiter, I appreciate the commitment and time that it takes to organise and run a successful camp.

Report Cards At the end of 2021, Dr Keith Graham made the decision to issue report cards without comments in each of the Learning Areas.

This semester, reports will be emailed home without comments in each of the Learning Areas. There will be a personalised general comment and a behaviour comment.

To support this change, teachers will continue to email home Unit of Inquiry overviews, these will also be available on the school website.  Parents can use the overviews to refer to when reading the report card. 

I’ve collated a list of pros and cons that were used to inform the decision.

I tabled this information at the P and C meeting last week.  The P and C are in support of the change to the report card format and see the benefit in increasing the teaching and learning time to access the curriculum and demonstrate learning outcomes.

Comparative Reporting Report cards will include graphs to show your child’s level of achievement in each learning area and/or subject against the achievements of other students in the school, in the same year level who undertook the learning area and/or subject. This information will show you the number of students in each of the levels of achievement.

I’ve included an example below, blue indicates your child’s level of achievement.

Report Cards will be emailed home on Tuesday 21 June.  Please ensure your email address on our school records is correct.

NAPLAN Online will run from Tuesday 10 May to Wednesday 18 May for students in Years 3 and 5. 

NAPLAN is a National assessment and all students are expected to participate. NAPLAN is primarily an assessment of learning, so the test environment must be tightly controlled to maintain test integrity.

These tests cover reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. These tests are designed to provide feedback on students to schools and parents, based on comparisons with schools throughout Australia.

Our students have been prepared for NAPLAN from Prep.  The focus at Rochedale State School remains on quality teaching and learning in every classroom, every day.

Thank you to the parents who joined Mrs Rigby and I for the NAPLAN Parent Information session on Friday.  The PowerPoint and information was emailed to all Year 3 and 5 parents on Friday and has been uploaded to the school website

Student and Staff Safety

Workplace Health and Safety guidelines requires each school to engage in a drill for lockdown or evacuation each term.  On Wednesday 27 April, we had a lockdown drill, we completed the drill in 8.23 minutes.  

These drills are critical to teach children what to do in the event that we needed to evacuate or lockdown the school.

Parents as Learners – Inclusion and Disabilities

The following information supports schools to improve outcomes for all students, with a focus on providing a high-quality education for all children and students, and responding to the different strengths and barriers to learning that exist for each child and student.

Inclusion encompasses the following areas:

• Students with mental health needs
• Students in out-of-home care
• Refugee students
• Culturally and linguistically diverse students
• Students with a disability
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
• Rural and remote
• Gifted and Talented students
• LGBTIQ+

All schools are governed by:

• Human Rights Act 2019 (QLD)
• Anti-discrimination Act 1991 (QLD)
• Multicultural Recognition Act 2016
• Disability Standards for Education 2005
• Inclusive Education policy

Thank you to Petta Traynor for organising the Mother’s Day Stall.

To all of our wonderful mothers and grandmothers,
have a very special Mother’s Day on Sunday 6 May.

Melissa

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• year of schooling
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Government’s Privacy Policy (https://www.education.gov.au/privacy-policy).

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact Stacey Lloyd, HODLE, stdun0@eq.edu.au

This year our school will be participating in NAPLAN Online, for Year 3 and Year 5, from 10- 20 May.

Students will complete the NAPLAN Writing, Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy tests on iPads (Year 3) and on computers (Year 5), excluding the Year 3 Writing test which will be delivered using paper.

Please find below the NAPLAN test schedule/timetable outlining the days and test session times. If your child is in Year 3 or Year 5 and is absent for the NAPLAN tests, there will be opportunities during the NAPLAN window (10-20 May) for students to catch-up on tests they have missed.

Due to the timing of the tests, please ensure students are at school by the first bell 8:40am to ensure that they are ready to start the test at 9:00am. 

An email was sent to all parents last week with the PowerPoint information provided by Melissa Boyle at the NAPLAN Parent Information session held last week.  Please refer to this for more details regarding the testing.  In this PowerPoint are also details around preparing your child for the tests.

How can I help my child prepare for NAPLAN?

• Focus on doing their best & trying hard
• Validate your child’s feelings if they’re feeling nervous, tell them that it’s normal to feel a little nervous. Listen to any of their concerns.
• Give them some relaxation ideas: deep breaths.
• Give them a good breakfast on each of the assessment days.
• Be positive when asking your child how the test went. If you act worried, your anxiety will be noticed.
• Treat the test as just one component of your child’s educational achievements.
• Make sure your child’s sleeping and waking schedule is regular in the days leading up to and during the assessment period.
• Above all have a positive view of NAPLAN – a positive caring attitude is the best thing you can do to support your child

The NAPLAN Online Public Demonstration site is available if you wish to have a look at the types of questions your child will be asked.  https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site.

To find out more information about NAPLAN Online visit www.nap.edu.au.   

If you require extra information or have any queries, please contact Jessica Rigby – NAPLAN Coordinator 2022.  

Jessica Rigby
Deputy Principal Year 2/3

This week while our Year 6 leaders were off enjoying their camp at Tallebudgera, Rochedale needed Year 5 students to help with their duties. Throughout the whole week we had 6 students take on the responsibility of flag bearers. This included putting the flag up and down daily, as well as raising the flags on Parade.

Thank you to Sophie W, Sara P, Kristy B, Zoe J, Willow M, Gurseerat N.

On Friday, we had four Year 5 students who took on the responsibility of leading our school Parade. Public speaking in front of over 1000 people can be quite daunting. These 4 students did a spectacular job and spoke confidently, with big smiles. They truly were displaying the Learner Profile Attribute of a Risk-Taker.

Thank you to Mahergeen K, Pushti S, Kyle C and Abigail T.

Natasha Floyd
HOD-Curriculum

This year our senior sports day will be on Thursday 23 June, week 10 term 2.  It is anticipated that our school team will be selected after the sports day and be ready for the Mt Gravatt District Athletics Carnival on 8 and 9 August, term 3. 

The interhouse competition is arranged in the following age groups:

  9 years ( born 2013),

10 years (born 2012)

11 years (born 2011)

12 years (born 2010).

All Year 3 (turning 8 this year) students will be participating in the senior sports day competing in sprints (100m & 80m) / ball games / relays / tug-o-war.

Beginning  week 3 at lunch time (2^nd break) all interhouse field events and middle-distance competitions will occur : high /long jumps – shot put/200m & 800m/400m.  All events are finals and all participants will receive points for their participation, and place getters will receive ribbons.

The 200m /400m (9yrs) & 800m finalists will be selected from time trials during the students' physical education lessons.

The timetable in the newsletter indicates the age group (the age turning this year), date and  day of competition - all these events (high hump / shot put / long jump / 200m / 800m) will be for competition for house points and ribbons for the top 3 place getters.   All top 3 place getters will have points allocated to the age championship medallion and the child who accumulates the most points will be awarded the age champion for 2022. 

Any child in the age category of 10yrs / 11yrs / 12yrs age and who are placed in the top 2 (field event finals) and also placed in the top 4 in the sprints and middle distances  will represent Rochedale SS at the Mt Gravatt District Athletics Carnival next term provided they make the qualifying times and distances.  Any child who is away on the day of the events will be given a chance to challenge for a position on our school team.

If there is inclement weather about and the lunch time competition is postponed for the day, the event will be transferred to the catch up week (wk9).

An update of the results at the Mt Gravatt district cross country trials which was held earlier this week. The students not only performed very well but conducted themselves extremely well. We had 28 participants compete at these trials and all traversed the course in great style (no one stopped or had stomach ejections)! Out of the contingent of runners the following were successful and progress to the Met East cross country trials on Tuesday May 24:

10yrs – Emily A (1^st)  /  Lachie F (1^st)  / George N (4^th)

11yrs – Sofia v (8^th)  /  Luke B (1^st)  /  Jack C (8^th)

12yrs – Joshua A (1^st)  /  Ben S (8^th)

Congratulations to all of our students for their efforts.  We wish the above athletes good luck at the next level.

A huge thank you and well done to Mrs Amy Smith for managing the team.

OTHER NEWS this week – Billy M was selected in the Met East rugby union & touch footy teams this term.

Congratulations to Billy and we wish him good luck at the Qld state selection.

This year 6 of our music students have been successful in being accepted into the State Honours Ensemble Program (SHEP) to be held at the Conservatorium of Music later this year. Congratulations to the following students

Jane H
Jessica J
John T
Jia K
Justin L
Basileia F

“The State Honours Ensemble Program is an educational program for music students that helps extend and encourage their pursuit of musical excellence. SHEP has grown from relatively modest beginnings in 2001 to now include more than 40,000 participants. SHEP is now a firmly established aspect of music learning in Queensland, bringing together young people from all over the State, in regional centres and Brisbane to share their passion for making music.”

Office Hours

The school office is open each day from 8am to 4pm. 

Student State School Consent

It is the school’s usual practice to take photographs or record images of students and occasionally to publish limited personal information and student materials for the purpose of celebrating student achievement and promoting the school and more broadly celebrating Queensland education. Consent to use your child's name, photograph, voice/video recording or year level is requested at time of enrolment via the "State School Consent Form". If you wish to make changes to consent for your child please request a new State School Consent Form from the school office. 

Facility Hirers

Please find attached the current list of the community groups that hire our school facilities.

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.

P&C NEWS: P&C (eq.edu.au)

Next meeting - Our next General Meeting - Tuesday May 24, 7pm. All are welcome. If you have any questions or concerns, please direct them to pandc@rochedalss.eq.edu.au

SNACK SHACK NEWS: Tuckshop (eq.edu.au)

Please note that we have been getting a lot of requests for credit, please do not ask for credit at the tuckshop as we are unable to do this and EQ policy banned this practice some years ago. New Menu coming soon. It is, I promise! Qkr order cut-off is 8.45am for that day's delivery. Orders can be placed at any time during the day or night for the next day's delivery. Here at Rochedale State School Snack Shack, we are looking for a new Convener as well as new volunteers, so we can maintain our great service to the children of the school, but we cannot do this without your help. Mums, Dads, and Grandparents make great volunteers, and your child will love seeing you there! See what we do and how we prepare all the lunches on site. If you can spare some time, even if it is only half an hour in the mornings (when you do school drop off), every little bit helps. Make new friends and have a laugh. Any concerns or questions you may have please email tuckshop@rochedalesspandc.com.au

Look forward to meeting you 
Team Snack Shack 

UNIFORM SHOP NEWS: Uniform shop (eq.edu.au)

We are open for over-the-counter sales every Monday & Wednesday from 8.15am-9.15 & 2.15pm-3.15pm. The Uniform Shop Convener, Kate, is only onsite on these days. Emails will be answered during off duty hours but please understand this may not mean immediately.

Please note: We are no longer able to deliver Qkr orders direct to the classrooms. All Qkr orders are now delivered to the Teacher's pigeonholes for the Teacher to collect and then distribute to your child. This will happen on Mondays & Wednesdays. Or if you prefer you can pick up on the day in the afternoon, but please let us know by email so that we can hold on to it for you. Please speak with your teacher in the first instance if you do not receive your order. We appreciate your patience during this adjustment. Every effort is made to ensure the orders are delivered directly to the teacher for distribution to your child. Winter stock has now arrived and is ready for you to order. Any questions or concerns can be sent to uniform@rochedalesspandc.com.au

ROSHCA NEWS: ROSHCA (eq.edu.au)

All information regarding enrolling at ROSHCA can be found on the school's website or by emailing us at roshca@rochedalesspandc.com.au

Kind regards
Michelle Duncan
Admin Asst. RSS P&C
07-3340-8365

Please see attached notification outlining details for upcoming night works along Rochedale and Priestdale Road.