Cranbrook Newsletter - 2023 Term 1 Week 10
Principal's Message
Good afternoon everyone!
Parent Teacher Interviews
Parent teacher Interviews will be held during week two, next term on Thursday, 27th April. Parents are encouraged to book these interviews from Friday, 31st March. The booking system is online and it is designed for simplicity. Parents can access the system at any time, day or night. There are no codes or pin numbers to remember, and a series of simple screens and prompts to assist them to make their interview bookings.
Online Access : Copy and paste this web address or see the link below:
https://eq.sobs.com.au/pt3/parent.php?schoolid=70355
- Type in your email address and click Next
- Enter your name and contact details and click Next
- Enter your child’s full name and select year level and click Next
- Click on the ‘Book Interviews’ box next to your child's name
- Select your child's teacher and click Next (bookings can now be made for multiple teachers - for example....Music, PE)
- Click on the timeslot that you would like to book and your child’s name will appear in that timeslot
- If you make a mistake just click on that timeslot again to clear that interview
- Click on SAVE at the top or bottom of the page.
- Repeat this process for each child.
Before School Supervision
Numerous students are leaving the school grounds after they have been dropped off!
Thanks to our amazing P&C, students in the morning have a sheltered space to congregate until the school gates open at 8.00am, however, during this time there is NO SUPERVISION and as such students are left to their own devices.
When students are left to their own devices they can sometimes make poor choices regarding being SAFE, RESPONSIBLE and RESPECTFUL. Some concerns that have already been experienced by parents are:
- Students leaving the school grounds and walking to another address: KFC, Servo, Peers homes
- Students injuring themselves due to unsafe actions: running, jumping, climbing
- Students injuring other students due to unsafe actions: hitting, kicking, pushing
- High school students who have dropped their siblings off remaining in the sheltered area and interacting with students.
As a school, we will follow up and behaviours that breach the Cranbrook State School Student Code of Conduct if parents or students report any incidences once they enter the school grounds. Individual students may be restricted in their access to the school grounds when no supervision is available if ongoing and repeated behaviours place themselves or others at risk.
The Cranbrook Outside Hours School Care provides supervision from 6.00am and provide children with a safe and enriched space both before and after school, that includes breakfast/afternoon tea.
I am sure as parents continue to drop their children off before 8.00am there will continue to be circumstances that place their child at risk of harm.
We are in a fortunate circumstance that our school provides a space inside the school grounds for our students to congregate as other schools (with new security fences) are required to ensure safety and security measures are adhered to by NOT opening their perimeter gates until supervision is provided by the school.
School Gate Procedures
Albert and Bergin Road Pedestrian Gates - Gates will open from 8.00am to 8.50am and again at 2.50pm to 3.20pm.
Alice Street Pedestrian Gates – Gates will open at 7.00am and be closed at 4.30pm. The main gate will be open in the morning and the secondary gate at the Bergin Road end of pick up zone will be open in the afternoons.
Cranbrook State School provides our parents with another option to increase the convenience around school finances. Parents are able to pay all school payments (SRS, Camps, Excursions, Guitar Lessons, Swimming Lessons, Sports, Performances) online, using the Qkr! app. You can even place your tuckshop orders online via this app!
Please click on the links below to watch some short clips to see how the QKR App works.
QSchools App
Our school is committed to keeping all parents fully informed on up and coming events and opportunities to become involved in your child’s education. The QSchools app will assist you to stay up to date on all of our school’s events. To download the QSchoolsApp and receive the latest news on our school, simply go to the iTunes store or Google Play and search for ‘QSchools’ or use the following link for more information: https://alt-qed.qed.qld.gov.au/about-us/department-apps/qschools
Staff Changes
4B – Mrs Bianca Gordon will reduce her teaching fraction to 4 days per week and Mrs Sam Negra will be taking the fifth day on this class. This is a proven partnership as both Sam and Bianca worked together in 2022.
Special Education Programming – Due to the monitoring of the reasonable adjustments provided to students with disabilities occurring in class, Special Education Program staffing adjusts every term which impacts teachers and students. Mrs Rose Gilbert is continuing her extended leave and Mrs Justine Beal who has been covering this absence is moving to Longreach to take up a Head of Special Education position for the remainder of the year. Mrs Teresa Garnett has been relieved of her Cohort Leader role for the interim to cover the continued extended absence of Mrs Rose Gilbert.
I would like to wish all of our Cranbrook families a safe and enjoyable Easter break.
Term 2 commences on Monday 17th April.
Jeff Capell - Principal
Coming up....
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 Hotline - 4726 1260
Absence Email - absences@cranbrookss.eq.edu.au
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.
Positive Behaviour for Learning
We have had a really positive start to our year, in regards to our students being safe, responsible and respectful Cranbrook Learners. Today we acknowledge those students who have displayed these positive behaviours by having our celebration 'Snapaganza'! Well done students!
Next term we will reintroduce each of these expectations to our students. We hope you have found the PBL flyers in our newsletters helpful.
Over the past two weeks, we have learnt how to be Respectful and respect others' privacy and property as well as how to be Responsible and be resilient. Have a chat at home - you may find these tips helpful.
Our Snappy Winner for Week 9 was Tariqe!
It was a double draw for Week 10 at our whole school parade - the winners being Ava in Year 3A and a student from Year 5!
Well done! Thanks for being Safe, Responsible and Respectful Cranbrook Learners!
Learning in Year 5
Year 5 Excursion to Zambrero
This week, our Year 5 students had the very cool opportunity to visit Zambrero and get a little taste of Mexico, to complete their units in Maths and HASS. To make this excursion even more special, we were very fortunate to have the expertise of born and bred local Mexico City citizen, Eduardo and his wife, also Soraya's Mum, Robyn, to give us first hand insight to visiting the amazing country of Mexico.
Learning in Year 6
Our Year 6 students have also enjoyed consolidating their learning with excursions to Ingham and the Rowes Bay Sustainability Centre.
Here are some photos of students making parallel and simple circuits.
Special Awards
Two special awards were given to Year 6 students in Term 1:
Olivia was awarded a Principal's Award for the way she assists her bus driver each and every day, stepping up to make sure not only she is a Safe, Responsible and Respectful Cranbrook Learner, but to also make sure the other students are also. Olivia is the 'big sister' on the bus, helping out and looking after the younger students.
Well done Olivia - a well deserved recognition.
Liam was awarded 'Aussie of the Month' for his efforts in keeping our school clean and tidy. Liam has been spotted often, picking up rubbish and putting it in the correct recycling bins - even when it is not his own mess.
Thanks Liam - it's great to have students like you at our school!
From the Resource Centre
Class Borrowing Days
For students in Prep / Year 1 / Year 2 / Year 3…..you must have a library bag to protect your books.
It is very important that books are returned every week.
Students are not allowed to borrow more books until any outstanding ones are returned.
Students in Prep, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 borrow 2 Home Readers and 1 'Read for Pleasure' book.
Students in Years 4, 5 and 6 can borrow 2 books.
Please return your child’s home reader and library books on the following days:
Thanks so much for the amazing response we had for our EASTER COLOURING COMPETITION. It was really great to see the number of entries we received and the effort that went in to them all!
There could be just a winner and runner up in each of the categories, however, although we did sneak in a few highly commendeds too! The winners were:
In Prep:
Winner - Mila
Runner up - Jasmine
Highly Commended - Aylah and Maddison
For Year 1:
Winner - James
Runner up - Aiyanah
Highly Commended - Harley
In Year 2:
Winner - Amelia
Runner up - Mia
In Years 3 & 4:
Winner - Mikaya
Runner up - Logann
For Years 5 & 6 who had to go one step further and add features to their bunny:
Winner - Kenzie
Runner up - Karlito
Below is a picture of our prize recipients from Prep.
Thanks again everyone. Enjoy your prizes, students and enjoy your Easter!
The Arts Space
Rehearsals for our 2023 Musical, Mystery at Magpie Manor continue next term. We will advise the schedule in Week 1. In the meantime, make sure you continue to practise at home!
We were very excited to have our Adopt-a-Cowboy, Riley Price come and sing with us last week!
Congratulations to Week 9's Class of the Week.....6C for completing their Art assessment and emailing it on time, for performing 'Silver Birch' in canon as a team and for working responsibly with their buddies.
......and to 4A for being awarded Class of the Week for Week 10!
4A had excellent collaboration when doing their writing, they were trying their best and showed how much fun they were having, singing and dancing for assessment.
Here's a Term 1 student update from Arts Captain, Jane.
This term has been a great term for the arts it has been a lot of fun! Musical preparations have started as well as drama and visual arts excellence on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Arts Excellence students had the opportunity to work with local Townsville artist John Bradshaw to create mushrooms that will be used as part of a larger work at Strand Ephemera later in the year. Everyone had a great time dancing up a storm at the Prep- 3 and 4-6 Discos in week 9. Some of our junior students have been doing extra dancing at the first break Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday disco this term. There has been lots to celebrate in the arts with our weekly Class of the Week, and Student of the Week, congratulations to all the Term 1 winners . Don’t forget to keep an eye out for the Term 2 Musical Rehearsal Schedule and a big thanks to all the leads that have been attending rehearsals on time and memorising their lines. We can’t wait to see what awesome things will be happening over in The Arts in term 2!
Sports News
By the very, very small margin of just 10 points, Cooradilla edged out Kalyara and were crowned the Cross Country Champions for 2023!
Incorporated with the cross country, was our sports fundraiser, the Colour Run! Thanks to those families who got involved and supported our fundraising event. Did you notice our brilliant new sports flags? We were able to upgrade our old ones, thanks to your support for our fundraising events.
In some exciting news just from today.....
Today the Cranbrook Rugby League team played at the Bill Nettle Challenge. Our team won all our round games to earn a spot in the Grand Final against East Ayr. In the Grand Final they played excellent footy to run out winners 24-4. Well done on a great day of footy and congratulations to the students in the team for winning.
A big well done to coach, Mr Wilson too!
While not Grand Final winners, the netball girls had a lot of fun together today! Thanks Miss O'Reilly for passing on your netball expertise!
Season 1 of Sport gets underway on Thursday, 20 April. Training has begun, so please remind your child about when it is and what they have to bring. We will endeavour to advise of the game times each week.
Congratulations to Class of the Week for Week 9.......Miss O'Reilly's 5C! This class had great focus and worked hard through their lesson. Well done students.
Congratulations to Week 10's winner, Prep C!
Every student had great focus and effort during their PE lesson.
Spotlight on.....
Our Enrichment Programs
High performing students (achieving an A in English and/or Maths) have worked on critical and creative thinking project based learning opportunities throughout Term 1.
Year 1 and 2 Enrichment students have been learning about the movement of air and have been experimenting with materials that would move slowly through the air to safely land a legoman on the ground. Year 1 and 2 have created wind/air objects such as a wind spinner and a windmill before trialling different materials for the parachute.
This term selected Year 3 and 4 students have participated in Enrichment classes with Mrs Garnett. Students have researched and experimented with strong shape structures to create a bridge that can hold an allocated weight and that allows a boat-like shape travel underneath. Unfortunately, students were unable to complete their bridges before the term ended.
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Year 5/6 Enrichment have been busy, again, problem solving their way through paper challenges. This week Year 5/6 Enrichment students were challenged to make a paper plane that flies straight down the walkway the furtherest. We had a competition to see who could research and create the best flying plane using just paper, glue and scissors.
It was great to see all students participating and making paper planes, even those who had never made one before. We had all kinds of different paper planes created, with some students even trying origami.
It has been great to see these Year 5/6 students work in teams and as individuals to challenge themselves through these problem-solving paper challenges throughout the term. Today’s winner, Jasmine, had the best paper plane based on the parameters of the challenge.
Prep's Easter Bonnet Day
Thank you so very much to those families who put in so much effort and creativity with the Easter Bonnets! They looked fabulous and the students were so happy and proud to be wearing them!
Goodbye to Mrs Beal
After just a little stay with us, Mrs Justine Beal is leaving us and heading out west to Longreach, to take up the position of Head of Inclusion. While Justine is excited for this next chapter of her life, it is quite a big deal to be leaving the city that has provided her with the majority of her years in teaching. Actually born in Cairns and then later moving around a bit with her policeman husband, they eventually called Townsville home. With her passion and talent lying in the Inclusion field, Justine spent many years building her knowledge and expertise, which she shared with us and our students for nearly a year. Justine is really going to miss her family (husband Roger is staying in Townsville while he completes his commerical pilot's licence and her 2 grown children have their lives here), her church, the Strand and the great coffee. She has bought herself a nice new coffee machine to take with her though! Of course, she will miss all the great kids - especially the year 6s - here at Cranbrook. Justine, we wish you all the very best.
Sports Pride Fridays
Community News
Saver Plus – helping take the stress out of back to school timeThe Saver Plus community program has helped over 55,000 Australians take the stress out of back to school time. It’s free for eligible people to join.
At Saver Plus, we pair you with a savings coach while you budget and save over the next 10 months. You attend online workshops to learn tips, tricks and information to grow your budgeting and savings skills. Once you reach your agreed savings goal, ANZ matches your savings dollar-for-dollar, up to $500. You can use that money towards education costs such as uniforms, text books, laptops or extra-curricular activities such as sport or music.
You could be eligible to join Saver Plus if you:
- have a Centrelink Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card
- are at least 18 years old
- have some regular income from work (you or your partner) including casual, part-time, full‑time or seasonal (we also accept child support and carer’s payment as income)
- have a child at school or attend vocational education yourself.
If you’re eligible, start now and we’ll help take the stress out of next year’s back to school.To find out more, or to apply, go to www.saverplus.org.au or call 1300 610 355.
Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information in this issue of our newsletter at the time of publication.
For all enquiries please contact our School Office on 4726 1222.