Dear Parents/Carers,

YEAR 3 TO 6 ASSEMBLY

Next Thursday March 17 at 2.00pm on the top oval, we will be resurrecting the time capsule that was buried at the school 50 years ago and presenting it to students on assembly. This will build some excitement in the weeks and months to come where we discover what's inside and plan what to put back in the capsule for Craigslea students to discover in 50 years' time. At this event we will launch an art competition. Children will have the last two weeks of the term to do an artwork on the theme  Craigslea State School-50 years-Learn for Life which will form part of our mural that will be on the besser block walls on entry to the school and near the tuckshop. 

At this assembly we will be presenting the School Captains, Vice-Captains, House Captains, Music Captains, Tech Crew, Senior Leaders and Student Councillors with their badges. Parents/carers of those students are welcome to attend this assembly to pin the badge on their child. Some students who are new to our school and other students who are still working on achieving their badge, will have an opportunity to receive their badge early next term. Senior Leaders and Student Councillors your child will receive a note on Friday March 11th to bring home if they are receiving their badge at this assembly. We'd ask parents to bring a chair to the assembly (if they wish to sit) and set up their chairs along the bottom oval path at the end closest to the bottom oval.

HARMONY DAY

On March 24 we will hold a special costume parade for Harmony Day/Say No to Bullying Day at 9.15am on the top oval. Parents/carers are welcome to attend. Children can wear national dress or orange to represent harmony and anti-bullying. A number of activities will take place in the classroom and playground during the day. 

STORMS

The last few weeks have certainly challenged us all. The school sustained ceiling damage across a number of blocks and there were thick layers of mud in drains and in many of the eating areas. Teachers and teacher-aides (some family members roped in) responded to the call to make the grounds suitable for children returning on the Wednesday. Shovels, gurneys, brooms and hoses were put to good use and it was a much better environment for students by lunchtime. On the Thursday, we were concerned about some anomalies in our electrical system so we moved 8 classes as a precaution whilst we had the site checked. Soon after we had the children settled, parents/carers started phoning and arriving at school and then we became aware of the Premier's announcement. It appears some schools in Brisbane were given advice to recommend parents/carers to collect their child if they could before the advice for Brisbane was changed. Thanks for the patience everyone exhibited that afternoon. I have a close friend at a school on the Sunshine Coast who lost her car in flood waters in the school car-park whilst she was focused on evacuating children from her school, so clearly it was an important message for some schools just not ours where the sun shone for the rest of the afternoon for the most part! At present, we are unable to use the Prep fort and sandpits and the Year 1 fort as sand and bark has been washed away and we are awaiting its replacement. Year 1 are currently rotating play between the hall and the top oval until this is rectified. 

STAFFING

We continue to struggle with staffing in the current COVID situation and this will be a challenge for a while yet I'd expect. These difficulties coincide with a teacher shortage in metropolitan Brisbane where some days it is impossible to obtain a quality replacement. This term we have opted to replace with a Targetted Learning Teacher from our staff (who is familiar with our students, school systems and philosophies) if the absence is less than five days, so that we can maintain some consistency. This is not ideal as it withdraws some support and extension opportunities from students. Additionally, Queensland Health insists that students are sent home if they are displaying symptoms. I recognise that this is inconvenient for parents/carers who are trying to work but it is the unfortunate reality for families across the globe at the moment. Many of our teaching staff are in the same boat when we get calls to collect our children from their schools if they develop symptoms during the course of the school day.


P AND C AGM/GENERAL MEETING

At 6.30pm next Monday March 14, there will be our school's P and C Annual General Meeting and then the general meeting afterward. This meeting will receive nominations from those who wish to be considered for the vacant positions of President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary and various sub-committee positions. Come and join our school's P and C and learn all the great things they do to improve our school. 

Have a good week,

Kathy