FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Every day counts, every minute counts Children are required to be in class ready to start the school day at 8.50am.

Does arriving late for school impact on your child’s education?

It certainly adds up doesn’t it?

It’s important that your child/ren arrive on time to school, so they are ready to start the day and are engaging in the morning routines.

There are a number of students who are having frequent days off that is impacting on their academic progress…

School Absences: Parents are reminded that if their child is away from School, could they please phone/text the School early in the morning. Parents can ring our ABSENTEE LINE ON 3340 8388 or TEXT 0427 890 693 and let us know the reason for the absence and how long the student will be away for.

Extended Absences: If your child/ren are going to be absent from school for more than 10 days you need to complete an Exemption from Compulsory Schooling form. Please call into the Office for the form.  Please note that if you’re taking your child/ren out from school through the term, they will miss work and possibly assessments while they’re away.  We are unable to guarantee that assessments will be done when your child returns to school, if this is the case the assessment for the Learning Area will be marked as N, not assessed, on the report card.

P and C Day

Friday 20 May is P&C Day. This day, held each year, is an opportunity for us to take time to recognise and thank the outstanding commitment and contributions that P&C Associations across our State make to Education Queensland State Schools.

Rochedale State School has an active and community focused P and C.  To the parents and carers who give their time to make a difference for the students at our school, I extend my heartfelt thanks, none of your efforts are taken for granted.

 Thank you for the wonderful work you do, our school is a better place for your ongoing contribution.

Mother’s Day Stall was a great success, the children love the independence of choosing their own gift. Thank you to Petta Traynor for organising this service.  Thank you to volunteers that helped on the day; 

Cilla Gray, Rob Timms, Ghuman Inderpal, Priyanka Arora, Carissa Mason.

Parents as Learners – Inclusion and Disabilities
Student diversity
Queensland schools reflect the diverse nature of communities across Queensland. Every day, principals respond to the unique learning and support needs of their school population to ensure every student has the opportunity to learn and succeed in a safe, supportive, inclusive and disciplined learning environment.
Schools are required to support all students and families.
What the legislation says
The Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 prohibits state schools from discriminating on the attribute of gender identity or sexuality. The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 also prohibits discrimination on the basis of a person’s sex, gender identity, intersex status or sexual orientation in the area of education.

Schools must provide all students who identify as same-sex attracted, intersex or transgender with access to high-quality schooling that is free from discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation. Links to relevant legislation:

• Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld) https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1991-085
• Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cwlth) https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00880
• Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Act 2013 www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2013A00098
• Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld) https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2009-014
• Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2006-039

LGBTIQ+ students

Every student is welcome in our state schools, which are a reflection of Queensland's communities.

Queensland state schools are committed to providing a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for all students, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) students. The Department of Education supports state schools to respond to the individual needs of all students to ensure their wellbeing is nurtured and their learning maximised.

Rochedale State School is committed to creating and maintaining a safe and supportive environment for our LGBTIQ+ students.

I’ve included information below on Parent Education Sessions offered by Autism Queensland.

There will be no parade on Friday May 20 due to Under 8’s Day activities.

Have a great week.
Melissa

Under 8’s Day – Friday May 20

Under 8’s Week is an event initiated by Early Childhood Australia Queensland and has been running for 60 years. Children from day cares, schools, playgroups and communities celebrate being under 8 years old. It recognises play as a context for learning, development and well-being in the early years. The theme this year is ‘play in a changing world’.

During the morning session on Friday May 20, our students from Prep and Year 1 will be involved in a variety of hands-on and fun activities to celebrate Under 8’s Week. Our pre-prep providers have also been invited to join in the fun activities as well. There will be no parade on this day and all activities will be set up in the hall.

We are excited to invite parents/carers to join in the fun and are welcome to attend (one adult per student). Activities will run from 9am-11.00am. Parents /carers will also be sent home an email this week with further details.

Year 1 Fire Station Visits – Tuesday May 10 and Wednesday May 11

As part of the current Unit of Inquiry (UOI), the Year 1 team have arranged a visit from our local fire station. These visits will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. All classes will hear important messages from the fire station on Tuesday and have an opportunity to
learn more about the fire truck on Wednesday.

Wednesday –

11:30-12:00pm- 1R and 1J,

12:00-12:30pm- 1S and 1A,

12:30-1:00pm- 1K and 1D

2023 Prep Enrolments are now open!

Enrolments for Prep 2023 are now open for children born between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018. Children must be five (5) by 30 June in the year they enrol. Applications for enrolment will only be accepted for students within the school catchment area (or siblings of a current 2022 student). Unfortunately, we won’t be offering any out of catchment places for 2023. For further information, please contact our school Enrolments Officer, Mrs Amanda Ross on PH: 3340 8333 or E: enrolments@rochedalss.eq.edu.au

Some tips for home reading https://www.petaa.edu.au/w/Teaching_Resources/Parents_guide.aspx/#ltr

• Establish a home reading routine. Read aloud with your children everyday. Ten minutes for each child around a book of his/her choice. If English is your second language, read in your home language. If you lack confidence in reading aloud, the fact that you are reading with your child is what matters. Talk about the illustrations and contribute where you can. Share your excitement for reading and this will be the model your child will adopt.
• The reader holds the book! There is a lot of power and control in the world of reading. The reader needs to have the power.
• During home reading time, turn off electronic devices and give each child ten minutes of your undivided attention.
• Before you read a book, set your child up for success. Reading is not a test! Reading time is only ten minutes so do some of the following: Keep the introduction short – one minute is enough. Talk about the illustrations and the title. Read the blurb and talk about the author, talk about any unusual words, read a page here and there as your child flicks through the book, discuss the characters. This is a short introduction, not an interrogation. If the book is already a familiar one, then this step is unnecessary.
• If reading time is stressful, move the reading to a new location. Instead of sitting at the kitchen bench, move to the lounge room floor, or go outside and sit under a tree or take the books to the local coffee shop.
• Find a reading time that works for your family. Limit the time and set the timer if reading in the past has always been difficult. It is better to have an enjoyable 10 minutes than a laborious 30 minutes where everyone is left feeling frustrated.
• At the end of the 10 minutes, ask questions that encourage discussion, for example: What was your favourite part? Tell me about the characters. What do you think will happen next? What did you think about that setting? What do like/ dislike about this book? There is no need to interrogate the reader. Make it a conversation as you would in a book club.
• Encourage your child to read independently. A bedside light is one of the best enticements for your child to read before going to sleep. After the 10 minutes of reading with you, the child can elect to continue reading independently.
• The less you interrupt the 10 minutes of reading, the more you are supporting the readers independence, resilience and confidence. Zip your lips, monitor the miscues, and listen as your child reads.
• Avoid judging your child’s reading with words such as: ‘good’, ‘excellent’ or ‘getting better’. Instead say things about the strategies your child uses when reading such as: ‘I like how you read on when you came to that difficult word.’ ‘I like how you changed your voice to be the voice of the character in the story’. ‘I noticed that you reread the bit that did not make sense.’
• If you child is reading independently and has reached the level of chapter books, it is not necessary for you to read aloud together any more. Your job is done. That is not to say, you cannot continue to share reading time because it is what you love to do as a family or that you sit and read silently together or that you talk about the books your child is reading because you are interested in his reading choices. Readers read differently in their heads as compared to reading aloud.
• Visit the local library — make it a family ritual on a set day every week. Let your children select their books while you select books you are interested in reading. Not every book has to be read cover to cover. Your child might select books based on illustrations or factual information about a topic of interest.
• Independent readers pick and choose what they read. They are entitled to read some and reject others. They are entitled to not complete books because they are boring. Readers make choices.
• Model what it means to be an enthusiastic reader. Create a home of readers where everyone reads – It is just what we do in this house! Talk about what you have read. Read aloud what makes you laugh and share it with your child.

Have a great week
Nicola Leslie
Deputy Prep/Year 1

How will we know what we have learned?

Assessment is an integral part of our curriculum delivery. Its primary function is to find out what children know and to support their learning progress. Teachers plan, design and implement assessment to monitor and gather evidence of student learning and achievement against the relevant achievement standards. Assessment gives children feedback on their current learning and helps direct goals for their future learning

Assessment falls into two main categories – formative and summative.

Formative assessment can be a task (or tasks) that is completed as a part of the class’ learning experiences. It focuses upon the ongoing formation of learning and achievement. It is used to identify areas of challenge that can be focused upon during an up-coming sequence of lessons. It can also assist with differentiation and the setting of learning goals. Formative assessment provides teachers and students with specific short term and effective feedback on a concept or learning skill. Teachers then use this feedback to inform what their next lessons needs to focus upon.

Summative assessment is usually a task or project that is completed at the end of a unit of work. Summative assessment indicates a student’s achievement level against learning outcomes. It gives teachers the information they need to make accurate, consistent judgements about a student’s learning progress over time in relation to Australian Curriculum standards. Summative assessment as the name suggests, is aimed at giving children the opportunity to demonstrate all that they have learned through past experiences. It also provides students with the opportunity to reflect upon their learning and synthesise it within an enduring understanding.  

Teachers engage students in these assessment strategies through many different approaches and tools. Some of the ways teachers may invite children to demonstrate their learning and progress is:

• build a model to demonstrate the design make and appraise process in Design and Technology
• discuss and respond to a set of questions or discussion points about a book
• demonstrate a specific movement skill during a PE class
• demonstrate how they apply a mathematics concept in a familiar or unfamiliar problem-solving task
• research and present their enduring understanding about a concept
• create a power-point
• present an oral to the class
• answer a set of knowledge questions through a short answer response assessment
• complete a piece of writing
• illustration to communicate knowledge
• construct a flow chart to explain design process
• participate in a drama or dance showcase
• complete a set of cords or songs on a musical instrument 

It is through these wide range of assessment tools and strategies that not only are we able to assist each child to reach the full potential of their learning, but we can also support them to develop a love of learning that they can take well beyond the school gate. 

Natasha Floyd
Head of Department- Curriculum

HEALTH ALERT - Reported case of chickenpox in year 3.

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.