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Dear Parents/Carers,
This has been a challenging week for the Brisbane community where we have all been reminded that Queensland is not protected from the effects of this pandemic. We celebrate Book Week today and watching staff and students smile at all the wonderful costumes, helps everything feel semi-normal even if we are without our costume parade and the fantastic support of our parent community. It was lovely to see our Year 6 “fairies” greeting children on Hamilton Road this morning so that parents dropping off or driving past could join in some of the excitement. We will share some photos in this newsletter and in the recorded assembly of this happy day where all year levels will have the chance to celebrate books.
It is therefore with a heavy heart that in the light of recent circumstances, I have had to make the decision to not allow parent participation at the upcoming Cross Country and Athletics Carnivals. By placing these events late in the term, it was my hope that restrictions would continue to ease. I have looked at the “COVID Safe Event Checklists” every which way, however, it seems that recent events will not allow me to guarantee a safe event for everyone. We intend to take photographs and video footage of the day to share with you all and the staff are sad you can’t all be there to share the day with us, as we rely and value the parent assistance and support offered at these carnivals. Mr Heidrich will share the program so you can encourage and discuss the events with your children before and after the event.
Facilities
Next week Year 6 teachers will start packing boxes ready for their move out of their block ready for its refurbishment which commences at the beginning of Week 9. The building will be completed two weeks after the school holidays. The roof of the Year 5 building will commence in Week 9 also and will be completed by the start of the school holidays in time for the roof of the Office building to commence. We are fortunate that we have classrooms and other excellent teaching spaces to move to whilst this important work is taking place.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- On Friday and Saturday of this week the leadership team will be joining other Brisbane North Schools at the QASSP Strategic Planning and Collaboration Event. These two days provide the leadership time to look at the strategic direction of the school so far this year and projecting into next year as well as the opportunity to look at staffing and resources. A number of joint projects with other schools come out of this event as well as the sharing of ideas across our common priorities. There will be Delegated Officers in Charge who will operate the school in the absence of the leadership team.
- Prep Experience Days will take place in the last couple of weeks of this term where Prep students in very small groups will have the opportunity to spend time in a Prep classroom in preparation for their start to school in 2020. We intend to hold more events in Term 4 ensuring we can ensure these are COVID-safe. At this stage, it looks like we will have 4 Prep classes for 2021.
- A focus for the remaining weeks of the term will be year level planning for Term 4 units and ensuring that consistent grading of year level tasks occurs through teachers meeting to moderate them.
- A reminder that Friday September 4 is a Student-Free Day. Parents will need to make alternative arrangements for the care of their children that day.
Have a good week and take care of you and yours at this difficult time,
Kathy
PREP 2021
If your child was born between July 2015 – June 2016, then they are of age to enrol in Prep. If you are concerned that he/she is not ready for some reason, please call and speak with me about this. It is possible to delay entry to Prep and talking it out will ensure we make the right decision for your child.We have already scheduled Prep Experience Days
(implementing a COVID safe plan)
for our 2021 Prep Students in weeks 8 and 10 this term.
This day is scheduled after the enrolment interview has taken place.
We will finish enrolling our in-catchment students in the next week and expect to start enrolling some out-of-catchment immediately after. Even if you already have children in the school, you need to organise a Prep Interview through the front office.
Life Awards
Prep - Year 1
THURSDAY 10 SEPTEMBER, 2020
9:30am – 11:00am
Online Seminar (via Zoom Webinar)
Learning at Craigslea
This semester is quickly passing by as we are now over halfway through Term 3. The students are busy consolidating their skills and knowledge and learning new concepts from across the curriculum areas. Below are some samples from the P-2 sector of the school.
Rhyme Time in Prep
Prep students are working hard on their phonemic awareness and identifying rhyming words in simple poems. Students are consolidating their understanding of letters and sounds and how they go together to make words. They have also been working hard on their sentence structure and punctuation. Have a look at some of the rhyming sentences our Prep students have created.
Year 1 Authors
The year one students have been reading a range of stories with animals characters who have human qualities. Wanted, Ralfy Rabbit Book Thief and Bears Don't Read are just some stories they have been enjoying. They have been creating character descriptions with images.
Persuasive Year 2
The year two students have been working on their power of persuasion. Once all their learning is completed, they will be writing a persuasive letter to Mrs Canavan about an environmental issue at the school.
Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who participated in Book Week by dressing up as their favourite characters to celebate books and reading.
Look At What's On The Shelf
Linking with our Book Week celebrations, we have added a selection of the 2020 Children's Book Council Association nominated titles to our collection. Recordings of some of these books can be accessed on our YouTube channel for students and families to enjoy.
Premier's Reading Challenge
The Premier's Reading Challenge concludes on Friday 28 August. Please remind your students to return their Reader Record Forms to me so that they can receive their certificate.
Book Club
Book Club Issue 6 catalogues have been distributed to students and are available online. All ordering and payments must be completed online using the Scholastic Book Club LOOP Platform. Register at www.scholastic.com.au/LOOP and place your Book Club order by September 9.
Some Book Club Issue 5 orders are still on backorder. Scholastic are experiencing delays at the moment due to limited flights, social distancing requirements and increased parcel volumes. I will give students their books as they are delivered to the school but I have no control over the delivery timelines. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Healthy Books
In line with Covid-19 Guidelines we are continuing to quarantine any returned library books for 72 hours. Please assist us with keeping our students and our books healthy by washing hands before and after reading.
Tess Bryce
Showcase
Showcase has been cancelled this year due to COVID restrictions.
Workshop
Due to Covid Restrictions our annual music workshop will be slightly different this year. The Senior String Orchestra, Senior Concert Band and the Performance Choir will be involved in the music workshop. This annual event will be held on the 8th of September. All children involved can wear their music shirt or if you do not have a music shirt school uniform is fine. During the school day each ensemble will have a time in the music room to practise and polish their performance. The groups will be filmed at the workshop and available to the school community for viewing. We are trying to think of new ways for students to perform and continue our strong parent involvement. Look out for these young musicians performing. We will be stars in the making!!
Induction for 2021 Instrumental Music Program
The music department is presently involved in the selection process for picking students to play in our instrumental music program next year.
By the end of this week all year 2 and 3 students will be tested and invitations for successful students will be sent home. If you receive an invitation please return it, as this will secure your child’s place in the program.
Thanks
Pauline
The following recipients are receiving a L.I.F.E. Award, as they have enacted our school values:
| Learning | Be a Learner |
| Individuals | Be Independent |
| Friendship | Be a Friend |
| Environments | Be Safe in all Environments |
ONLINE FATHERS DAY STALL
