Dear Parents/Carers,

SENIOR ATHLETICS CARNIVALS

Once again for the third year in a row, organisation of these carnivals have been a challenge. We have a relatively dry oval for now (fingers crossed) but need to spread its use because there are a number of divets that make intensive use a challenge for safety reasons. Additionally, staffing schools has been a bigger challenge than ever this term with COVID and flu still a real issue as well as replacing Mr Heidrich these past weeks has been a difficult task. I'd like to thank Wade Olsen and Gary Kirby for helping us out where they could in recent times. After the holidays,  Kendall Simpson will take over PE for Term 3. Kendall is on leave from his classroom teacher position at Aspley State School and he describes himself and is described by others as a sports tragic. As a parent and teacher he has involved himself in school and club sport for many years, so he is keen to take up this role for Term 3 until David's return in early Term 4. 

We are required to send in nominations for District Track and Field Events for 10, 11 and 12 year olds by the end of Week 1 so given these multiple challenges, we have emailed parents/carers twice to submit their child's name and events if they wish to trial for these events. These nominations are now closed. Therefore, all of our district nominations will be done in school time this year not from carnival results.  Age Champions for 9, 10, 11 and 12 years will be given out after both of the Athletic Carnivals based on the outcomes of the trials and carnivals. House Points will be awarded both from the trials and the carnivals. Therefore, participation of all students is key to ensure their house has the best chance of winning!

Therefore, the format of the carnivals will be as follows:

Senior Carnival 1: Wednesday June 22

9. 15 am  9,10, 11 and 12 yrs:  800 metres (1st, 2nd and 3rd place ribbon awarded for each age group)

9.30 am   9,10,11 and 12yrs:  200 metres (1st, 2nd and 3rd place ribbon awarded for each heat but there will be no finals)

Senior Athletics Carnival 2: Wednesday July 13

9.15 am    9,10,11 and 12yrs:  100 metres (1st, 2nd and 3rd place ribbon awarded for each heat but there will be no finals)

            9.10,11 and 12yrs:  100 metre relays (1st, 2nd and 3rd place ribbon awarded for each relay team)

11.30am 9,10,11 and 12 yrs:  BALL GAMES   

PRESENTATIONS WILL OCCUR ON ASSEMBLY ON THURSDAY JULY 2 ASSEMBLY 2PM     

                                      

INCLUSION

Students enrolled in Queensland State Schools come from diverse social, cultural, geographic and family backgrounds, are of many identities and of all abilities. 

Success and well-being for all children through each stage of learning means that every single child can access a quality education; the school's focus is on the needs of the child; we talk about success as success at learning and in terms of well-being. 

Students experience inclusive education when they can access and fully participate in learning, alongside their similar-aged peers, supported by reasonable adjustments and teaching strategies tailored to meet their needs. Inclusion is embedded in all aspects of school life and is supported by culture, policies and every day practices. 

Craigslea is a diverse school with 39% of our students from EALD backgrounds, 20% of our students with learning, social and emotional needs and 47% achieving an A or B in English. Our school employs a Targetted Learning Teacher for each year level to ensure they oversee the support, extension and improvement of every child across the year level. 

Most schools these days are diverse. Diversity and Inclusion has been a strength of our school for decades given our history of working with students with disabilities. Our parents, staff and students have always been such an understanding and inclusive community. This makes this school special. It makes our students and our staff special.

At times, particularly in the case of students in Prep to 2 those with social/emotional needs are still learning to be part of a large community. This can often mean they can feel overwhelmed and make impulsive choices physically and verbally that can impact on other students. It is important that the school leadership team is made immediately aware if the ongoing actions of other children are impacting on your child. We then make a plan that aims to ensure a safe and supportive learning environment for your child.

The Human Rights Act and the Disability Discrimination Act ensures all schools work positively and proactively with children with complex needs and their families towards a better future. We are fortunate at Craigslea that almost all of these families consider the needs of other people's children and therefore work closely with us to improve their child's learning, engagement and behaviour. After a period of time where students have been provided with the skills and adjustments they need to engage in their learning, make friends and play safely, things improve greatly particularly with the child's growing maturity. 

When I work with these families, I always admire their joy, resilience and problem-solving skills learned by having to do parenting differently than the rest of us. As a school leader, I see that they support their children but have great concern for the children of others. They may not always like but they understand and support the actions of the leadership team, as these actions sometimes might be difficult for their children. They know that the needs of others must be considered as most of them have other children or family and friends who are neurotypical. 

As the educational leader of this community, my vision is for our school community to support these parents and their children as they progress through their inclusion journey at Craigslea. This means we may have to jointly problem solve any "bumps" (where we can) along the way to ensure the safety and happiness of all. These children most often look exactly the same as yours but may act or think differently or become overwhelmed easily. Things get so much better in time when we are all behind them. It's a feature of a truly inclusive community when there is an understanding that not all children are the same and therefore need different responses and strategies to reach their potential. 

A Message from Mr H.

On behalf of my daughters and myself, I would like to thank the teaching staff, the parent community, the P & C and the OSHC staff for their kind thoughts and support.

The meals from Meal Train (thank you Mrs Stockill) and meal vouchers has been wonderful to consume with my extended family and visiting friends. I haven't needed to worry about any dinners and the variety and quality of meals has been exceptional. The girls have asked for recipes and have enjoyed the varied and hearty meals. We greatly appreciate the wonderful support of the whole school community, my second family.

Best wishes from Mr H and his girls.

Have a good week,

Kathy