Cranbrook Newsletter Term 4 Week 7 2020

Principal's Message

2021 Classes and Teachers Released

Parents and students will receive their class lists for 2021 on Friday 4th December, Week 9.  As with any release of information some students and parents may be pleased or disappointed with the situation they are placed in.  If you strongly object to either the teacher placement or their peers, you are requested to put your request in writing and outline the EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES that would deem it necessary to move classes.  Please forward your requests to The Principal by Wednesday, 9th December and mark your correspondence PRIVATE and CONFIDENTIAL.  A decision will be made on all requests the week before school begins so new enrolments can be taken into account.  No early decisions will be made.
Please be aware that these lists are only DRAFT and the final class lists, teachers and rooms will only be finalised in 2021 after Day 8.

Year 6 Graduation

A reminder to Year 6 students - Students with outstanding SRS fees will not be receiving an invitation to the graduation unless other financial arrangements have been made.

Student Resource Scheme 2021

At the next P & C Meeting on the 25th November, the P&C members will decide if we will see the continuation of the Student Resource Scheme at Cranbrook State School.  Basically this means any resources that your child requires for learning in 2021 can be purchased from the school OR supplied by you as the parent.  In 2020 the school will recommend continuing the stationery supplies to each student. This means that the school will supply all needs for your child while they are at school other than uniforms and lunches.

At the next P & C Meeting,  a decision will be made as to the cost of this scheme for 2021, based on the resource list the school develops.  This scheme also allows eligible parents to make part payments, reducing the financial burden of schooling. A parent is directly responsible for providing the student with textbooks and other resources for a student's use while attending school.

The purpose of the scheme is to provide the parent with a cost effective alternative to purchasing textbooks, resources, consumables and/or materials from elsewhere, through reduced prices gained from the school's bulk purchasing processes. A student resource scheme enables a parent to enter into a written agreement with the school in return for payment of a specified annual participation fee.

The school and the parent share decision-making and responsibility for the scheme.  Participation in the scheme is voluntary, and no obligation is placed on a parent to participate.  A parent's decision to participate is based on consideration of the value afforded by the scheme. If a parent chooses to participate in the scheme and completes a Participation Agreement Form a participation fee will be due and payable by the parent.

On lodgement of the completed Participation Agreement Form with the school and payment of the participation fee in accordance with the agreed payment arrangement, the school shall provide the items to the student when due for the student's use. Payment of the participation fee by the parent is a requirement for continued participation in the scheme.  An unpaid fee will be subject to the school's debt recovery processes.

Where parents have opted for the textbook and resource allowance to be paid to the school, the allowance must be applied to offset the student resource scheme participation fee.

A parent who does not wish to join the scheme is responsible for providing the student with the items that would otherwise have been provided to the student by the scheme as detailed on the Year Level Requirements List and/or Subject Requirements List, to enable the student to engage with the curriculum. 

Finance Reminder

Due to all receipting closing from 3:00pm on Friday, 4th December it would be appreciated if all 2021 payments could be made prior to this time.
Money can still be taken after this close-off point, but handwritten receipts will be available only.
All SRS fees are well overdue and parents/caregivers are reminded that payment needs to be finalised (or payment plan arranged with the BM.) if students are wanting to participate in any extra-curriculum activities e.g. swimming, graduation, sport, live performances.

2021 Prep Enrolments – Limited places available (14 spots left)

If your child will be attending Cranbrook State School in 2021 you will need to ensure that the following tasks are completed as soon as possible to allow for class placement for 2021 to occur.
Complete the enrolment form (PDF, 3688KB)

Bring your child’s original birth certificate to the school so we can process your child’s enrolment.

Clubs

Breakfast Club will cease on Friday 4th December (Week 9) and will recommence in Week 2 of 2021.  A big thank you to everyone who has donated food items and helped throughout the year (including our students).  Breakfast Club is a wonderful service for the Cranbrook Community.

Homework Club will cease on Thursday, 27th November (Week 8) and will recommence in Week 2 of 2021.

Jeff Capell 
Principal

Every Day Counts - Attendance

Regular, punctual attendance at school is expected of all students.  Students should be present at school ready to prepare for the day's learning by 8:30am.

Late Arrivals

Students arriving after 8:50am must report to the office to receive a lateslip.  If a student is late, a letter of explanation from the student's parent/guardian must be presented to the office staff on arrival.

Absence

If a student is absent and the parent/guardian has not notified the school, they will receive an automated text message by 10am that day.  

Parents will receive a text message informing them that their child is absent. If you receive one of these text messages, please contact the school to explain the reason for your child’s absence.

A working mobile number should be registered with the school, if available.

Please remember that absence is only marked for the days specified by the parents. If you ring up on a Monday informing that your child is sick and they remain away from school for the following 2 days because they are sick you need to inform us that this was the reason for their absence. You can inform us after the absence via a message directly to the teacher or by contacting our absence hotline or email.

If your child is absent, please leave a message detailing:

• Child's name
• Class
• Reason for absence
• Dates or duration of absence

Absence For More Than 10 Days

What is an exemption and why do I need it?

Every parent of a child of compulsory school age has a legal obligation to ensure their child is enrolled and attending school. Parents can apply for an exemption from this obligation when their child cannot attend or it would be unreasonable in all the circumstances for their child to attend school for a period of more than 10 consecutive school days.

Situations where an application for an exemption may be made include:

• Illness
• Family reasons
• Cultural or religious reasons

If your child is exempt from compulsory schooling, you are excused from your obligation in relation to compulsory schooling. 

The school principal is not responsible for providing an educational program for your child, however they may provide advice on other educational options available. Decisions about exemptions for up to one school year are made by the principal and decisions about exemptions for more than one school year are made by the relevant Regional Director of the Department of Education, Training and Employment, responsible for the supervision of the school your child attends.   

Attendance Award - Week 6

Positive Behaviour for Learning

Uniform Roll Out - Term 4

By the end of Term 4, 2020

100% of students are wearing the following:

• A pair of Cranbrook Shorts
• A pair of Cranbrook Skorts

Please note that plain royal blue shorts are NOT part of the new school uniform.

Student Code of Conduct

What is the Student Code of Conduct?

This our school’s behaviour policy, with information about school rules, consequences and processes for addressing bullying and the use of technology. The Student Code of Conduct clearly sets out expectations about staff responsibilities to support students to understand and meet discipline expectations of the school, and guidance on the application, where required, of disciplinary consequences.

From 2021, the Student Code of Conduct replaces the Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students, Code of Behaviour and Statement of Expectations. The Student Code of Conduct is developed in consultation with each local school community, is published on the school website and provided to every student and family upon enrolment. Until a school finalises their Student Code of Conduct, the existing Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students continues to apply.

As part of our school consultation, we invite parents to read the Draft Cranbrook State School Student Code of Conduct and provide feedback at our next P & C meeting on 25^th November at 6:30pm where the document will be ratified ready for implementation in 2021. If you have any questions prior to the meeting, please call the office to book in a meeting to discuss these with me.

For more information around the Student Code of Conduct please visit: https://www.qld.gov.au/education/schools/health/behaviour

Schoolzine Newsletter Features

Mobile Phone View

Our Schoolzine Newsletter has many features that you can access via the menu including viewing our calendar for important dates and events at Cranbrook.  You even have the option to sync the school calendar to your own personal calendar!  To subscribe, view our archived newsletters, view our calendar events or to contact us from our newsletter using your mobile phone, simply click on the menu bar located on the top left hand corner and a drop down menu will appear with options.   (Please see the illustration below).  

As we have only recently moved over to Schoolzine, we ask that you please be patient while our staff continue to learn and become more familiar with the Schoolzine applications.  In the meantime, please don't hesitate to send us a message if you would like some more information or some additional support in how to access the features of our newsletter.    

PC/Laptop View

You can also have a full monthly view of the calendar from your PC or Laptop by clicking "calendar on the top menu bar" of the newsletter.

Year 5 and 6 Laptop Program 2021

Parent Information Evening

From the Music Room

Thank you to all of the parents who came along to our 2021 Instrumental Information evening.  We have attached two of videos from the evening of the Percussion Ensemble and the Nightingales Chorus.

We will include some more videos of the student performances in next week's newsletter.  

Ms Earle 
Performing Arts Teacher / Instumental Music Coordinator

Resource Centre News

Many students utilise Cranbrook Resource Centre for enrichment programs such as Global Tropics Futures STEM, Impact Centre lessons and extension activities.   

The GTF STEM students have earlier this year conducted experiments and are now expanding their knowledge around Biomedical Engineering.  Students are inventing a healthcare solution for elderly people living alone, focusing on areas such as mobility, monitoring and medication.

Hunter, in Year 4 has been visiting the Resource Centre once a week to extend his knowledge on coding.  He has created an advertisement on the benefits of using a coding program and is also working through tutorials on using Javascript code.  Hunter is learning that typing instructions in code can be used to create pictures and animations.  

Still want to borrow and read books?  Use our online ebook site or app- SORA.  You can continue to read over the Christmas break using the ebooks.  See below for instructions.

Cranbrook were the proud recipients of a generous donation from the wonderful Townsville branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association.  Cranbrook Indigenous Captains, Keyarn and Harmony, Aunty Joy and Mrs Shepherd accepted the donation of Indigenous Readers from Theresea Jarrett, Linda Kopittke and Janiece Stark to add to Cranbrook Resource Centre collection.  Cranbrook is very grateful for the donation and the new books will be well used by students and teachers.

What's On in Year 3/5C

Miss Street’s 3/5C students have been working busily on an enrichment project in class. 
They have been challenged to plan a class movie that depicts some of the major events from their year in 3/5! They have developed their storyline, are creating their script and will be filming their movie in the coming weeks. The Mystery of the Missing Skittles (working title) is set for release in Early December 2020. 

Amy Kennett - Year 5 Cohort Leader

Environmental Club News

What's On in Year 6

All three of our Year 6 classes took an adventure to the Riverway Sensory Garden last week Wednesday.  Our students are researching ideas based on the 5 senses, so they can come back to Cranbrook and apply them to their very own sensory garden that will be located next to the Environmental Centre.

Riverway Sensory Garden Excursion

Sports Pride Fridays

Free Dress Day

Cranbrook Bus Driver Needed

Community News