RSS Newsletter Issue 6 2023
From the Principal
Congratulations - Mrs Pattel
I am very excited to announce that Mrs Bethea Pattel has been a successful in receiving a bursary to attend the Queensland Association of Mathematics Teachers (QAMT) Conference which is being held at Sandgate State High School in Brisbane from the 23rd June 2023. We wish her all the best and look forward to hearing about her learnings in Term 3.
Maximising Learning Days - Attendance
Our current year to date attendance rate is sitting at 91%. As a school and community we are eagre to ensure that our students are attending school as regularly as possible and arrive on time to maximise their learning time and days.
We want to thank all of our parents and students for working hard to uphold high attendance standards. If there is anything we can do to support the attendance of your child/children, please get in contact with your child's teacher of the office.
Mid-West Sport - Athletics
Congratulations to our students who attended Mid-West Athletics in Hughenden today and also a hugh thankyou for the parents and staff who supported the event. We look forward to supporting some of those students who will be selected to represent Mid-West at the North-West trials.
I look forward to seeing everyone during the holiday period and as we begin Term 3 on Monday 10th July.
Warm Regards,
Mrs Elizabeth Mayo
Head of Department - Curriculum
Specialist Lessons
Prep to year 8 will be changing from Drama to Media Arts next semester. Learning in Media Arts involves students engaging with communications technologies and cross-disciplinary art forms to design, produce, distribute and interact with a range of print, audio, screen-based or hybrid artworks.
The aim is for students to develop:
· enjoyment and confidence to participate in, experiment with and interpret the media-rich culture and communications practices that surround them.
· creative and critical thinking and exploring perspectives in media as producers and consumers.
· aesthetic knowledge and a sense of curiosity and discovery as they explore imagery, text and sound to express ideas, concepts and stories for different audiences.
· knowledge and understanding of their active participation in existing and evolving local and global media cultures.
Students in the early years will be compiling a portfolio to communicate about media artworks they make and view, and where and why media artworks are made. In the higher years, students will use genre and media conventions, technical and symbolic elements to represent social values and points of view in media to compile a portfolio of works. More detail will be available on the Term 3 Parent Curriculum overview which will be distributed in week 3.
Homework Centre
Letter of offers to engage in Learning Beyond the Bell; Homework Centre will be distributed in week 10 of Term 2. Please refer to your letter of offer for starting dates of Homework Centre in Term 3.
Parent Teacher Interviews
In Term 3, Parent Teacher interviews will be offered at various times over one week. This event provides an opportunity for teachers, parents and carers to discuss student achievement and learning behaviour, share children's progress, and establish goals for improved learning and achievement in future. It also gives teachers the chance to understand a little more about the students in their classroom. Keep an eye out for the dates on the Family Calendar that will be distributed in week 1 and booking sheet to follow.
Hard to believe we are halfway through the year already! As the term comes to an end, we would like to wish everyone a safe and relaxing holiday.
Student Achievements
Congratulations to all award recipients.You have been recognised for your hard work and dedication to learning & our school.
Term 2 Week 7
Term 2 Week 8
Term 2 Week 9
Athletics Carnival
Friday 2nd June Richmond State School athletics carnival was held at Charlie Whelow oval. Mitchell Monsters were victorious over the Flinders Frogs by a narrow margin. Well done to all the students who participated.
Monday 19th June, students who are eligible will travel to Hughenden to compete in the Mid-West Carnival. Congratulations and Goodluck to all.
Mid-West Cross Country
On Friday the 9th of June, Dustin Lanskey, Jaydon Lanskey and Taylor Stenhouse attended the Cross Country North West trials. All three students did an amazing job in their races! An extra shout out to Jaydon who was selected to be a part of the North West team and compete at the State Championships in Hervey Bay. Awesome work Jaydon, Richmond State School are super proud of your achievement!
Porcupine Gorge
On the day before the Field Days public holiday, our boys from Year 8 Science persuaded Mr Theodore and Miss Julie to make the 350km round trip with them to Porcupine Gorge. The excursion was aimed at linking the theory behind their studies of geological features and processes to real-world examples in the local area.First up, we went to the Porcupine Gorge lookout to examine the geological history by identifying the various layers in the wall of the gorge. We also captured images of the environment above the gorge to compare with another location later in the day.We then travelled to the Pyramid Rock campground, packed our backpacks, and started the easy walk down the 412 slippery steps to the gorge floor. Now that we were descending through 300 million years of geological history, we could easily see how the layers had changed by observing the rock types. On the gorge floor, we observed the incredible forces and processes driven by water erosion and hiked to the Pyramid Rock formation.After lunch, it was an easy jog up the 412 steps back to the car. Aside from Daniel's disintegrating shoes, Rick's almost face-plant tripping and June's unexpected gravel slide, all was great with the world. [image]The final destination for this geological field trip of discovery was Mount Walker, just south of Hughenden. Rick thought the very steep and narrow road to the top was worth a muffled swear, but once on the plateau we could see the similarities in the rocks and vegetation between Mount Walker and Porcupine Gorge. It was very lucky that this was the last stop and the following day was a public holiday as the three students had a snooze on the way back to Richmond.
Porcupine Gorge
School Nurse-Elle
Being Bullied Unfortunately, bullying is a very common occurrence in school aged children and most children will experience being bullied. Bullying can be a traumatic experience and affect a child self-esteem and behaviour/mood and their attitude toward school. Bullying is using one’s power or the power of a group to intimidate, scare or hurt others and ranges from minor teasing to threats and physical violence. Bullying can occur in different forms:
· Verbal- teasing, name calling, insults and put downs
· Physical- pushing, tripping, hitting and breaking a person’s things
· Gesture- threatening, facial expressions or gestures
· Extortion- demanding money, homework, school supplies or lunches
· Exclusion- being left out of a group or actives
· Cyber- over the internet or use of technology and mobile phones
Why people bully? Bullies seek to hurt other people for different reasons. Some people think it is fun, they are bored and looking for a laugh, to make them more liked or popular or the fear of becoming the next target of being bullied. Others bully because they don’t know any other way to problem solve other than by aggressive behaviour or even because they feel bad about themselves and bullying others makes them feel more powerful. How to help your child manage bullying-
· Listen to you child- ask who is involved, what has happened, how often and if it has happened before.
· Ask what your child did- have they tried anything to make the bullying stop, what were they doing when they were bullied. Children will often give vague answers so prompt your child to be more specific.
· Stay calm- making threats toward the other child, parent or school will often result in your child ceasing to tell you about any further incidents.
· Don’t assume- your child might have tease or provoked the bully, don’t assume it’s all the bully’s fault.
· Agree on the problem and summarise- agree bullying is a problem that needs to stop and get the facts about the situation.
· Ask for your child opinion- encourage problem solving by asking them ideas on handling the situation when they are being bullied.
· Offer your suggestions and choose a solution- these could be ignoring and walking away, making friends with other children, being more confident and assertive.
Premiers Reading Challenge
Dear Parents/Carers,
I am delighted to invite all Richmond State School students to join in the 2023 Premier’s Reading Challenge.
The Premiers Reading Challenge is not a competition but a way to encourage students to develop a love of reading for life. Students are encouraged to select a range of fiction and non-fiction books suited to their reading ability and record books read during the reading period, between 8th May to 25th August. With the 2023 explicit improvement agenda of Creating Literate Learners, the Premiers Reading Challenge is the perfect opportunity for parents to foster a love of reading at home just as much as we do here at Richmond State School.
To complete the challenge:
- Prep to Year 2 must read or experience at least 20 books
- Years 3 and 4 must read at least 20 books
- Years 5 to 9 must read at least 15 books.
Experiencing books can include shared reading, listening to stories, or reading picture books. The aim for the 2023 challenge is to encourage students to make time to read. Last year saw more than 130,000 children from around the state participate.
Key dates:
- 8th May – 25th August – Reading Period
- 28th August – Student reader record submitted to teacher
- 30th October – Premiers Reading Challenge celebration week
Every student who completes the challenge and returns the completed record reader form and consent form, will receive a Certificate of Achievement signed by the Premier. I look forward to seeing as many of our students as possible take part in the 2023 Premier’s Reading Challenge.
For suggested books or for more information about the Premiers Reading Challenge, please visit: readingchallenge.education.qld.gov.au or contact Miss Kirk on lkirk112@eq.edu.au.
RSS Alumni - Ready for the Future
My name is Amber Aspinall, and I am a proud past student of Richmond State School. Fortunately for me, I had the privilege of growing up in Richmond. Because of this, my educational journey began at RSS in 2006 as a very little Prep student. Over the many years that followed at this school, I was able to learn, prosper and gain lifelong skills. In 2014, I spent my final year here as a year 7 student. This was an extremely important year for me as I was granted the opportunity of being Junior School Captain and Flinders House Vice-Captain. Following year 7, I attended All Souls St Gabriel’s School in Charters Towers (2015 – 2019), where I completed my secondary schooling. After I graduated from school, I returned home to Richmond to complete a gap year. During this time, I was fortunate enough to return to RSS where I completed a Certificate III in Education Support. In 2021, I made the move to Townsville to study a Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science at James Cook University. Currently, I am in my final year of study and plan on undertaking further studies to complete my Masters in Exercise Physiology. My goal is to help rural and remote towns, like Richmond, have more Allied Health services available to the community. Without my educational experience at RSS, I would not be where I am today. Despite Richmond State School being a small school, the teaching staff are extremely dedicated as they go above and beyond to provide a quality education for all students. Anything is possible when you have great role models.
Amber
Information
Dental Service
We are pleased to announce that the RFDS Dental Service will be visiting Richmond from 11th until 20th July 2023.
The RFDS Dental Service offers preventative dental care as well as treatment for a range of oral health conditions at no cost to patients. The service is open to everyone and appointments can be made by calling 1800 002 507.
QCoal Foundation is proud to be a Founding Partner of this vital community service. We would appreciate any assistance you can provide to highlight the visit of the RFDS Dental Service to Richmond within your school community to ensure as many people as possible are able to access the world-class RFDS dental team.
P & C Information
