RSS Newsletter Issue 3 2024

Principal

What a wonderful welcome I have received when arriving at Richmond State School. I would like to thank the parents, staff and students for their consideration that has helped me transition into this school. I have walked through and visited some great classroom learning experiences, and had some great conversations with students about their favourite things about school.

I did want to take a moment, as a new member of the community, to really appreciate the experience, expertise and passion of the staff at this school.  I would really commend the staff’s dedication to your students and their education, as I have witnessed and spoken with many about their work and their care for the children learning at this school.

With that said, the 2024 AIP was discussed at the last P&C meeting, and teachers are working closely on their term 1 targets and goals. This year we’re kicking off our next 4 years of strategic work by building teacher and student knowledge and skills that evidence based and high impact, and will support our school to align teaching and learning with Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum. Teachers and students are using learning walls and  modelled responses during learning time. Teachers are also using their meeting and preparation time to review student and learning data; and to work with Miss Dempster and Mr Smith to refine their practices.

I am looking forward to my first Interhouse Cross Country at Richmond State School, and I’m excited for the planning for the longer tracks through Council land and the Golf Club. It looks like there’s a great balance of tracks to run on, and I wish all students the best on Monday!

There are also a few upcoming Regional Sport competitions. If your student is travelling to compete, I wish them the very best of luck!

I know that this is the last Newsletter for the term, so I would wish you a very restful and safe break, and I am looking forward to continuing work with you when we return on the 15^th April.

Congratulations to students in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9. Mr Smith, who coordinated the tests, and the staff who assisted in the supervision and support of the tests reported that the online tests were a success. It was great to see so many students participating, and actively reading and thinking through their questions to answer carefully.

Kind regards,

Elizabeth Cumming

Principal

Deputy Principal

The conclusion of term 1 is fast approaching with staff and students all working hard at this time of year on assessment. Meanwhile, preparations are underway for a range of end of term events that will be a rewarding end to the term. The cross country event taking place in the last week of school is set to be a brilliant spectacle commencing at lake Fred Tritton on Monday 25/03/24 at 8:30am. Parents are reminded that school drop offs will be at the waterpark end of the lake for this event. The program of racing is similar to previous years with most primary aged students completing a lap of the lake for their course. For our older students completing the 3km and 4km track they will venture into parts of the golf course with a road closure in place on the Hillier Street approach to the lake from the Golf Club. Presentations to winners will occur either at the end of the races at the lake if time permits or back at the school library at the end of the day. Students are expected to be back at school by midday to commence their regular period 3 and 4 lessons as normal.

The last day of the school term on Thursday we will be running an alternative program of activities for the day with the exception of the period 1 lesson. The second session of the day will see classes celebrate their hard work with their in class Positive Behaviour for Learning whole class reward activities. Starting at 10:20am we will be hosting an Easter Bonnet Parade where parents and community members will be welcome to attend. After morning tea students will move to classes where they will be engaging in a special program of STEM (Science, Technology Math & English) learning opportunities with their class teachers. Richmond State School is incredibly well resourced in this area with a wide array of technology and learning resources that students will engage with in this session. Concluding the day students will return to their regular classrooms for end of day activities with their class teacher that will see them wrap up exciting start to the year.

Regards

Chris Smith

Deputy Principal

Head of Department - Curriculum

End of Term Assessment
As we enter the final weeks of the term, classes are busy completing end of term assessment pieces, which is an opportunity for students to show the knowledge they have gained throughout the term. Teachers then moderate these assessments to ensure accurate teacher judgement when marking against the five-point scale used to determine a student’s achievement level. The report cards at the end of a semester are the culmination of all summative assessment pieces a student has completed for each subject in that semester. It is important that students are prepared to complete these assessments, which means getting enough sleep each night, having a healthy and filling breakfast before school and a filling lunch during the day. Thank you for your support in ensuring your child is prepared for their assessments in order for them to do their best.

Every day counts!
Your child cannot learn curriculum content or complete assessments if they are not at school. Research shows that in Queensland, higher student attendance is associated, on average, with higher student achievement. Additionally, attending school every day helps children to build social and emotional skills such as communication, teamwork and resilience.

Under the law, you must make sure your child is enrolled and attends school on all school days unless there is a reasonable excuse. We recognise that with the beautiful wet season that we are having this year that some students have been unable to attend school at times due to roads being cut. Please communicate with the school if you are going to be cut off from town for a period of time so that we can work together to support your child’s learning. Vacations outside of school holidays are discouraged, particularly as the end of term nears and your child misses important assessment opportunities and fun events such as sporting carnivals, PBL reward activities and master classes. Assessment calendars are sent home at the beginning of each term with the Parent Curriculum Overviews. If you have any questions regarding assessments please contact your child’s teacher.

Parent Teacher Interviews – thank you
It was wonderful to have so many parents meeting with our teachers during Parent Teacher Interviews. Communication between home and school is so important and these opportunities allow us to connect and discuss each individual student’s strengths and areas for development. Parents are welcome to contact their child’s teacher at any time throughout the year to meet to discuss progress or concerns.
Thanks must also go to our dedicated teaching staff for the time and effort put into these meetings with parents.

With only one week left of school, I’d like to wish all our students and families a happy and safe school holiday break. We look forward to seeing you back in Term 2 😊

Rachel Dempster
Head of Department (Curriculum)

Playing our part to build a national picture of child health.

During Term 2, our school, along with thousands of others across the country will begin preparations for the sixth Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). The AEDC gives us a national picture of the development, health and wellbeing of children in their first year of full time school, but collecting data on Prep students and their transitions into schooling. Since 2009, the census results have helped communities, schools and governments plan services and develop better policies to target support for children and families.

To collect this information teachers use information from transition documents and their results from the first weeks of schooling to. Children don’t miss any class time, and parents/carers don’t need to supply schools with any new information for the census. The AEDC gives us data at a school and community level - it isn’t an assessment of individual children.

In the past, teachers have also noticed that completing the assessments made them more aware of the needs of individual children and the class as a whole and that the census results are useful in planning for transitions to Year 1 and developing class programs.

Participation in the AEDC is voluntary. Parents/carers don’t need to take any action unless they choose not to include their children in the census.

To find out more about the census and how communities are using the data to help children and families visit the AEDC website: www.aedc.gov.au.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Elizabeth Cumming (4768 6333).

Guidance Corner

Student Achievements

Term 1 Week 7

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Term 1 Week 8

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Term 1 Week 9

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Student Representatives

Student Council  Representatives were presented with their badges on parade Monday 18th March

Student Leaders Received their badges at awards Night 2023.

Congratulations to all the following students.

Student leaders and Student Council

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Mid-West Sport

Well done to all of our students who attended the Netball, Touch Football and Rugby League Mid West trials in Julia Creek. Everyone put in 100% effort at the trials and made us proud with their exemplary behaviour throughout the day. A huge congratulations to our students who were selected in either one, two or three of the sports! You certainly dominated the positions in the sport teams this year!

PE with Mr Evans

How technology has changed over time.

This is the question Year 1 and 2 students have been exploring in HASS. In the classroom we have compared transport, housing, communication and school in the past to what we have today. To help students visualise these changes we went for a walk on Wednesday 6^th March.  Despite the heat, and the fact that the students had already walked to the pool and back earlier in the day for PE, everyone walked enthusiastically up to the Cambridge Downs Heritage Display Centre.

We split into 3 groups, observing and discussing the house construction, the displays within the house and the displays in the shed.  Discussions were had regarding the local flagstone rock construction which had no air conditioning and apparently looked like a jail with the glassless, barred windows. They were interested to hear about the ‘old way’ of shaving, using a copper for washing and having to push a pedal to make the sewing machine work. Students were especially excited to see the ‘bus’ (Cobb and Co Coach), ‘truck’ (bullock dray) and ‘car / ute’ (horse drawn wagon) but were unable to grasp the time it would have taken to get places using these. Some decided they would have a very sore behind after travelling long distances over rough ground in these vehicles!

Overall, this was a valuable learning experience for the students, allowing them to visualise some of the theory we have been learning in class. The community is fortunate to have this valuable resource available.

In the Kitchen With the 9/10 class

Week 8- Bacon and Egg Pie. some students chose to make a family size pie and other an individual muffin sized pie. We hope you enjoyed them if any made it home for your enjoyment.

Easy bacon & egg pie

Ingredients

• 4 – 6 rashes bacon
• 1 onion
• 1 cup grated tasty cheese
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 cup milk
• 3 – 4 eggs beaten
• Salt & cracked pepper
• Parsley – fresh chopped or dried

Method

1. Dice bacon and onion, place in bowl with grated cheese and breadcrumbs.
2. Beat eggs & mix with milk
3. Add salt, pepper and parsley
4. Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients
5. Mix well
6. Pour into a greased / lined pie dish
7. Bake in slow to moderate oven 45 minutes

Bacon and Egg pie

Cross country

Ylead 2024

During week 8 students at Richmond State School participated in a program of engagement with the yLead team. The goals of the program were to teach students leadership skills and teamwork. Everyone was taught that they don’t need a badge to be a leader. Students learnt about the golden circle principal.

Another key focus of the activities was learning how to adapt to changes. The year 5/6 students were the first group to work with the yLead team on Wednesday. Students participating said they “liked that there were fun activities to help people learn new skills to help them cooperate” and “we learnt that a leader should have HEART – Helpful, Energetic, Aware/Active, Resilient, Teamwork/Team player”.

On Thursday the year 7-10 High School students participated in the yLead program. Students from this group commented on how “it brough us together as a group” and said they “really enjoyed the way the presenters ran fun activities and taught the group to communicate effectively”.

Our School Leaders were the final group to participate in the program with Student Council representatives from grade 3-10 included. Students participated in the program for the morning session of Friday and learnt about skills specifically targeted at their roles as school leaders. Students involved on this day said “It helped me learn how a leader should act and help others” and “I learnt how to plan fun activities for us as leaders to run with our peers”.

Overall, the yLead program was well received by students and made a clear impact on their individual and group skill development. We look forward to working with yLead again into the future.

Ylead

Homework Centre

Richmond State School is 1 of 120 schools that were successful in receiving funding to run a Homework Centre. Our Homework Centre is twice per week with students being able to attend 1 day per week - student numbers are capped for each session. Homework Centre spots are only per semester, we will re-offer the 2 days again at the end of Term 2, 2024 in preparation for Semester 2.

Homework is an important part of every child's education. To assist families with completing homework, students are to bring their homework to their allocated day to complete with the support of Teacher Aides. 

Fruit Break

Library

In term 2 week 6 we will be hosting a book fair, we are currently looking for any artficial flowers that you might like to donate to the school for decorations. Week 6 also sees the annual NSS reading, this year Bowerbird Blue will be the  featured text.

Below is some infromation about the  NSS.

National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. Now in its 24th successful year, it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children's book that explores age-appropriate themes, and addresses key learning areas of the National Curriculum for Foundation to Year 6.

Tuckshop

Term 2 Specials

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P&C Information

The 2024 P and C committee 

President: Sherreen Johnston

• Sherreen stepped up from vice into the role of President in 2023, Sherreen has a passion to ensure children are provided an equal opportunity and will lead our P and C team in the 2024 year. 

Vice President: Rachel Stenhouse

• Rachel has been an active member of the P and C for many years and is excited to continue to support Richmond State School. Rachel's super enthusiastic about leading some of our 2024 fundraising opportunities. 

2^nd Vice President: Emma Gough - This is a newly appointed role to assist all the other roles

• Emma has come on board the P and C committee with a twisted arm, eager to kick goals for Richmond State School in 2024

Secretary: Renee Backer 

• this is Renee's first year on the P and C committee, Renee has already been put on mute in the group chat as her best ideas usually happen between 10pm and 2am

Treasurer: Jodie Fox 

• Jodie comes on board to the P and C committee as a wealth of knowledge from all her years of dedication to many other local groups and organisations, her skills will be a valuable asset to our P and C team. 

Our 2024 committee extends a massive thank you to the outgoing 2023 committee and the countless members before who have worked tirelessly to improve our beautiful school. We hope to see the same successes in 2024 as we provide feedback and advice on school policies and activities, assist in providing resources to enhance student outcomes and are involved in a variety of school activities including fundraising, school functions and will be actively involved within the school. We encourage you to, yes you 🙂 to come have a chat with us, be a part of our wonderful school community and participate in fundraising opportunities to help support our children. With our main goal in 2024 to raise substantial funds to significantly reduce camp and excursion costs for our families. We are a wonderful, down to earth group of ladies, who can at times get a little side tracked, often leading to that much needed social fix while we tackle school related matters. We aren't like regular mums we are cool mums... 

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.