RSS Newsletter Issue 1 2024

From the Principal

It is with great excitement that I welcome new and returning families to the 2024 school year. Thankyou to all families for the support you have provided your children during their transition back to school.  

Being active in your child’s education

During the initial stages of Term 1, students have been working with their teachers to establish classroom expectations, set individualised learning goals and begin engaging in their Term 1 curriculum.  I strongly encourage families to take the time to review the ‘Parent Curriculum Overviews’ and associated Assessment Calendar’ to ensure that you are able to partner with your child and child’s teacher as they embark on their learning in the coming weeks and months. 

An additional opportunity for you to be an active partner in your child’s education is through your participation in our Term 1 Parent/Teacher Meetings.  Meetings will be scheduled to occur on Tuesday 5^th March.  If this time is not suitable, please ensure you speak with the applicable teacher/s to set an alternative time. 

P & C 

It was a pleasure to participate in our first P & C Meeting for 2024 on Monday 5th February.  We have a dedicated and passionate P&C team who are eagre to receive your membership form.

Being an active member of P&C provides you with yet another opportunity to be an active partner in your child's education and also provide insights into the operations and decision making of the school. 

Please join us for the upcoming AGM on Monday 4th March 2024 @ 5:30pm. 

Principal Update

As many are already aware, I will be engaging in a new position within the Department of Education to support our state-wide agenda of delivering Equity and Excellence.  I will be working as a School Improvement Coach (SIC) as part of the Education Futures Institute.  My role will be a travelling role based in the Darling Downs South West Region. Therefore, I will be departing Richmond in Week 6 to begin this new role. 

The Richmond State School-School Supervisor, Grant Dale is working hard to ensure the appointment of a suitable candidate for the position of Acting Principal for the remainder of 2024. The newly appointed Principal is due to begin at Richmond on Monday 4th March. 

Once the state-wide recruitment process for the position has concluded, I will be sure to update you regarding the successful candidate and the negotiated start date. 

Kind Regards,

Mrs Elizabeth Mayo

Principal

Deputy Principal

2024 has started with a splash in more ways than one. The recent rain whilst a welcome change to the hot dry weather has impacted on some of our students being able to return to school. Also, our students have started the year back in the pool with our swimming PE curriculum shifted to term 1. Please note that prep students will still complete their swimming unit in term 4 this year. For students eager to participate the representative sports trials on the horizon, please ensure your permission forms are returned promptly. For any further enquiries about representative sport please don’t hesitate to contact our school sports coordinator and PE teacher Ms Rose Murray.

Friday of week 3 will see our year 10 students participate in CPR for Life training at school as part of their Ready for the Future curriculum. The formal training delivered by Jenagar will also continue through to Saturday where Richmond State School staff will be completing both CPR and First Aid courses. As with this CPR training for the year 10 students are range of curriculum and extra-curricular opportunities are regularly being communicated home via letters to parents and carers. It is important to remind students to return these completed forms to the school office where a collection basket is waiting outside the window.

As students have started to settle into their classes, routines such as homework are now in place. Learning Beyond the Bell – aka ‘Homework club’ has reconvened with a full complement of students subscribing to attend. We apologies to any students that missed out, please understand we are limited by the funding and staffing availability. Students will be provided with an opportunity to apply in semester 2. Further to this great initiative we have many more exciting things planned for 2024. Coming up later in term 1, the YLead team will again be visiting our school to work with the year 5-10 students and our school leaders.

Regards

Chris Smith

Deputy Principal

Head of Department - Curriculum

Week 3 Newsletter – HOD (Rachel)

Welcome to 2024! It has been a great start to the school year as we settle into our classroom routines and expectations. Our teachers have been creating safe and supportive learning environments and busily planning contextualised and engaging lessons for our students. Our students have settled in beautifully after the holiday break.

My name is Rachel Dempster and I have moved to Richmond in the Head of Department-Curriculum position while Ms Tanya Sinden is on maternity leave. I began my teaching career at a large 1000+ student school in Brisbane, before making the move way out west to Winton. I love the welcoming sense of community in remote towns, and Richmond has been no exception. I have felt so welcomed and have been amazed at the behaviour and attitude of our students. What a wonderful environment we have here at Richmond State School, backed by a dedicated staff team and supportive P&C. Thank you to our parents and carers for ensuring your student/s are prepared and ready for school. It’s a privilege to work in a small school and to have the opportunity to get to know each individual student.  I am also looking forward to meeting all our parents and families during my time here.

We have welcomed our littlest learners into our Prep space, where Mrs Ybema and Miss Nerina have been incorporating fine motor play and lots of oral language opportunities to encourage student confidence and build relationships. Our Year 7 students have taken to the routines of high school like ducks to water, and it is wonderful to have so many Year 10 students in our school this year. We look forward to seeing all that they will achieve before heading onto their future pathways.
We have also welcomed new teachers - Miss Baartz, Ms Schimpf, Mr Hatfield and Mr Evans - into our classrooms, and they have brought enthusiasm and dedication to their teaching and their students. Make sure to say hello when you see them around the school.

It has been great to see high levels of attendance across the school, with our only barriers being the weather and some unfortunate illness. Our teachers have worked to ensure that students that have been absent are caught up on the content they may have missed while away.
Finally, our Learning Beyond the Bell - Homework Club began this week, with students able to independently complete their homework in a calm environment, supported by our team of teacher aides. All student will be receiving homework, in line with the RSS Homework Guidelines, which can be found on our website -

https://richmondss.eq.edu.au/support-and-resources/forms-and-documents/documents . If you have any questions regarding your child’s learning, I encourage you to make contact with their teachers.

Student Achievements

Term 1 Week 2

Term 1 Week 3

Tuckshop

Weekly Specials

P&C Information

Welcome to 2024,we look forward to seeing you at our meetings ,the dates and times will be posted on the facebook page and the school calendar.

Community news

Join our team

Please see the below advertisement for an opportunity to join the Richmond State School Team.  We are seeking a dedicated and hardworking individual to join our cleaning team. 

Please make time to contact the school office if you have any questions.