Dear Craigslea Community,

As we approach the final fortnight of the 2024 school year, it is a time to reflect on the many positive achievements our whole school community can be proud of. Together, we have accomplished so much in learning and engagement, including:

- Learning and Bump It Up walls in every classroom

- Show & Shine afternoons celebrating student learning

- House Shield Competition, highlighting and rewarding positive student behaviour

- Installation of the P&C-funded Prep playground

With two weeks to go, I am looking forward to the following special events:

- Step Up Day – Monday, 2nd December

- 2024 Celebration Assembly – Tuesday, 3rd December

- Year 6 Graduation – Tuesday, 3rd December

- Year 6 Excursion – Wednesday, 4th December

- Year 4 Excursion – Thursday, 5th December

- Class Parties – Friday, 6th December

A Reminder to Families

The next 2 weeks are normal school weeks therefore all absences must be accounted for so please don’t forget to let us know if your child/ren will be away.

Christmas Concert

This year, for the first time, we held our Christmas Concert on a Saturday, enabling us to celebrate as a whole school community. What a wonderful night it was! Christmas concerts are always a special highlight of the year, and it was fabulous to see so many families join us to enjoy carols, stalls, and a movie. The festive cheer was truly contagious.

A huge thank you goes to Mrs. Stockill for her coordination of the event and for the time she dedicated to preparing students for their performances. I would also like to acknowledge the P&C, parent volunteers, and our teachers who generously gave up their time to make the evening such a success. Your efforts are deeply appreciated.

Thank You to Our P&C

As the year draws to a close, I want to acknowledge the hard work and unwavering support of our P&C. Having had the privilege of being the principal of five schools, I know the strength of the partnership between the P&C and the school is absolutely critical. At Craigslea, we are incredibly fortunate to have an amazing group of parents who are dedicated to making our school the best it can be for our students.

This year, the P&C has supported every school event, funded playground projects, installed water coolers across the school, and purchased outdoor ping pong tables for our senior students. While this is only a snapshot of their contributions, please know how deeply grateful we are for everything they do.

Show & Shine Afternoons

Thank you to the parents and carers who attended our final Show & Shine Afternoon for 2024. These events have become a much-loved afternoon, allowing students to proudly share their learning with their families. The afternoons provide a wonderful opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved and to celebrate a term’s learning. Congratulations to our students and teachers for making these afternoons such a success.

A Snapshot of 2025

Last week, we were excited to share our plans for 2025 with the community during both a Coffee & Connect morning and evening session. Looking ahead to 2025 has generated great enthusiasm among our staff, and the feedback from parents and carers has been overwhelmingly positive. We are excited about the opportunities and initiatives in store for the coming year.

A Final Note

This is our final newsletter for 2024, and it’s incredible to reflect on how quickly the year has flown by. As I complete my first year as your principal, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Craigslea community for your ongoing support of our school. By working together, we are truly creating the village that educates our children.

I am proud of what we have accomplished this year and eagerly anticipate the great things we have planned for 2025. Wishing all our families a safe and joyful holiday season.

“Celebrate what you have accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed.” Mia Hamm

Yours in Learning,

Melanie Rehm

Yours in Learning,

Erin Wiles

It has been a busy term for our Year 5 student leader applicants. Students who chose to participate in this process began by completing the student leadership form and writing a leadership statement. The next steps was shortlisting of School Captain roles and House Captain roles. The students who were shortlisted were asked to prepare and deliver a speech to their peers – year 4 and 5 students. After hearing their speeches, the students voted and votes were counted. All other roles were allocated through collaboration of the CSS teaching team.

There are some new roles for CSS in 2025 – Cultural Captains, Sustainability Ambassadors and Senior Leaders.

I would like to congratulate all student leader applicants. They have demonstrated that they have a commitment to leadership and operate with kindness and interest in supporting other students. All students are to be commended for how they managed this process, displaying maturity and grace.

2025 will be an exciting year for these students and we look forward to working together and watching our student leaders grow.

Lynley Williams

This year we have had over 10,000 books checked out from the Craigslea Library and over 16,000 books borrowed from our Sora Digital Library (Years 4–6 students). What an incredible number of books our students have engaged with!

It is now the time of year when all library books need to be returned. Please assist your student with this task as soon as possible - there will be no more borrowing for the rest of the year.

This is also the final week for Reading Club. Thank you to the families and students who have come along to read each morning before school. In 2025, Reading Club will be an invitation-based program but we hope to offer other family reading opportunities at the library - keep an eye on the 2025 calendar!

Tess Bryce

In this edition… 

1. OSHC 2025 enrolments open now.
2. Bunnings BBQ 8^th Volunteers needed.
3. Tuckshop Sushi Special.
4. Uniform shop opening hours for week 11.

Also….  

• Booklists are out! Don’t forget to head online and place your order to receive it before school starts.
• OSHC Christmas BBQ Nov 28^th from 4pm.
• Last Day of Tuckshop and Uniform shop Wednesday Dec 11^th.
• Tuckshop menu will be reduced as stock runs low towards the end of the year.
• OSHC Christmas closure dates 23^rd Dec – 3^rd
• OSHC Christmas vacation care available 16^th Dec -20^th and 6^th Jan – 24^th Jan.
• Movember!

The OSHC educators are taking part in Movember to help raise awareness for men’s health. It would be greatly appreciated if you could get behind the team and make a donation or if you want to be part of Movember, please feel free to join our team by clicking on the link

 https://movember.com/t/craigslea-outside-school-hours-care?mc=1

Let the mo growing begin!

1. OSHC 2025 enrolments now open.

Looking for a fun, safe and engaging space for your child for Before/After or during Vacation Care. Look no further! We are now accepting enrolments for 2025, and we cannot wait to welcome new faces to our OSGC community!

If you have a little one starting Prep or a student new to any grade at Craigslea State School, our dedicated team is ready to provide high quality care and exciting activities that we know your child will love.

Why choose Craigslea OSHC?

• Caring and passionate educators
• Convenient care for busy families, before and after school and during the holidays for vacation care
• A range of activities for the children to participate in, from art and crafts, cooking and sports
• A fun and supportive environment for the children to learn new skills, grow in confidence and build long lasting friendships
• Simply click on the link below to get started or scan the QR code to enrol today! Spot are filling fast for 2025, so don’t miss out on securing your child’s place.

https://prodadmin.myxplor.com/enrollment_v2/centre/XxMRKdnupnEiLru841xMLA

2. Bunnings Sausage Sizzle Sunday 8^th

7am – 5pm at Stafford Bunnings. Volunteer here  volunteersignup.org/38DBR

• Not available to volunteer during the week? The Bunnings sausage sizzle is a great way to be involved meet some other parents and help the school community.
• Many hands make light work, and there are lots of different time slots available so you can pick one that suits you.

7am – 5pm at Stafford Bunnings. Volunteer here  volunteersignup.org/38DBR

3. Tuckshop Tuesday Sushi Special.

• Available every Tuesday until the end of term.
• Must be preordered by the day before at 1pm.
• Order over the counter or on MM.

4. Uniform Shop Change of hours for week 11.

• Open 8:30am – 1:30pm Monday Dec 9^th
• CLOSED Tuesday Dec 10^th.
• Open 8:30am – 1:30pm Wednesday Dec 11^th.
• CLOSED Thursday Dec 12^th.
• CLOSED Friday Dec 13^th.