Dr Carmel McGrath

2020 Enrolments

Each year we are staffed on our enrolment numbers taken on the 8^th day of the new school year.  This is a very important day for state schools because it can mean the difference to our allocation of additional staff and consequently smaller class grouping. This is why it is so important parents and carers, let the school know if they are leaving our school and not returning in 2020.  Other things that make the prediction of student numbers challenging, is knowing how many new students we will enrol in the beginning of 2020 and especially the final number of prep students.  Currently we have now enrolled 84 preps so I anticipate forming 4 prep classes and hopefully the numbers will increase a little more.  Again if you know of anyone leaving us or yet to enrol, please encourage them to do without delay so that we can finalise our class formations within the next few weeks. 

Just a reminder that parent submissions for 2020 class allocations have now closed.  Once classes are formed with all the information considered, no further requests for class changes will be undertaken. 

If your student is not returning to NFSS in 2020 please complete this form.  

 Master Plan – Invitational forum

The EQ Facilities project team will attend our staff meeting Wed 13 Nov to present an update on the process so far and will provide an opportunity for staff input.  The team is also in the process of inviting the MasterPlan workshop group back for a further update to be held on 14 Nov before the full release to the broader community in December.  

End of Year Disco

Thank you to all staff and parents, particularly Year 6 parent group and coordinator Fiona Caniglia for all the hours of organisation which went into creating another wonderful ‘Halloween’ disco.  The students loved the dress up and the fantastic decorations, thanks to Tisha King.  Music and dance instructors support also helped create a fun filled disco.

Year 6 Graduation Invitation.

Evacuation Drill

Last week we conducted our term evacuation drill.  Thank you to staff and students for revising our procedures.

Volunteers Thank you

This week we had an opportunity to once again thank our generous volunteers who help out in our classrooms, grounds and around our school.  Learning Support Teacher Sandy Chambers coordinated the before school coffee catch up which enables staff to thank our volunteers for all they do to support our students.  We are also looking forward to acknowledging more of our volunteers, staff and students who are this year’s Community Spirit Award recipients. 

2020 School Leader Selection

We were all very impressed with this year’s School Captain candidates, their preparation was very good and despite some nerves, the students did a high quality job with speeches and interviews.  Ms Bradley and I conducted the interviews and were so pleased to hear the students presenting their ideas and showing such pride in our school.  Alas, we can only choose 2 school captains and 2 vice captains.

Congratulations to:

• our 2020 School Captains – Olivia Basile and Finn Morris
• our 2020 Vice Captains – Claudia Wallwork and Louis Andrews

This week we will continue our selection process with House Captain roles and next week Project Captains.  Best of luck to all students participating.

Wed 06 Nov 9 – 10am (classrooms)  – House captain speeches and student voting

• Thurs 07 Nov 9:30-1:00 – Principal interviews shortlisted students
• Fri 08 Nov– Principal announces the 2020 House Captains
• Wed 13 Nov 9-10am– Project Captain speeches and student voting (classrooms)
• Thurs 14 Nov 9:30-1:00 – Principal interviews shortlisted students
• Fri 15 Nov – Principal announces the 2020 Project Group Captains
• Tuesday 19 Nov Assembly– 2020 Captains introduced to school on assembly

Quadrennial School Review and Strategic Planning

Consultant David Curran will be visiting this week to review the draft School Strategic Plan 2020-24, where he will meet with the school administration team.  I will present the draft document at the final P&C meeting on Tuesday 12 Nov.  The document will then we finalised and will inform the development of our Annual Improvement Plan (AIP) 2020 and Implementation for Success (I4S) Plan.  This will ensure our AIP and I4S are clearly aligned with our school priorities. 

Kay Bradley

Uniforms for 2020

It’s been fabulous seeing so many of our students in full uniform this year.  Just a reminder before the season of ‘book packs, lunch boxes and uniform purchasing’ begins, that our shoes for school should be predominately black.

All students, both male and female should wear long hair tied back.  This adds to our smart uniform look and helps reduce the spread of head lice amongst students. In addition, special hair bands and jewellery (except watches and small ear-rings) should not be worn at school.

  P.B.L. FOCUS OF THE WEEK

Attending every day of school is important to ensure students have the very best start in life and learning.

Please phone, email or visit our school before Tuesday 28 January, 2020 to let us know if your child will not be at school on Day 1 of Term 1, 2020.

admin@newfarmss.eq.edu.au

Tuckshop Day 

Last Friday, we said a special thank you to our wonderful convenors, workers and volunteers who keep our tuckshop running

By providing healthy food and drink choices that help our students learn and stay engaged throughout the school day, they offer a wonderful service to our school community. The efforts of our tuckshop workers and the many volunteers who support our students and our school have been tremendous this year and are very much appreciated.

Nesting Birds (Curlews) on oval playground.- advice from Brisbane City Council.

“Fencing the area with the orange hazard fencing to deter people from interfering with the birds is the best course of action.

The birds will sit on the eggs until they hatch, then they will move into an area that provides shelter for their chick….”

Oval – rejuvenation project stage 1 completed- thank to you staff and students for your patience whist we have the oval closed to allow the new grass to take hold on the oval. The fencing will be removed Wednesday 6 November between 9-2pm. The soccer goals will remain in their current position to give the grass a chance to grow. Our schools officer has been able to mow the grass.

Advancing Clean Energy for schools Program- Audit-Tuesday 5 November

Detailed Facilities Study
During the process, Dept. will be undertaking the following activities:

1. Will be assessing the potential for energy efficiency measures and the potential for solar PV to reduce energy costs at your school. During this time, they will require access to all classrooms (briefly), electrical switchboards, mechanical plant rooms and rooves to determine the options available for further reducing the school’s energy costs.

Heritage consultant onsite- as part of the Masterplan we have had consultant’s onsite looking at the Heritage component of this plan. They have inspected A Block and B block thus far.

Staircase A Block – emergency repairs. Rowan Cassidy will be completing the repairs to our stairs. The contactor are now onsite for approximately one week. Please observe all safety signage and remind children not to play in this area. There will be a level of noise as they will be cutting wood and using nail guns etc.

Parent Volunteers and Visitors to the school – Signing in at the office every time you volunteer at the school.

Reminder to all Parents, Carers and Visitors to our school.

All volunteers are required to sign in and out at the office prior to going to your child’s class to attend activities. This includes classroom helpers and tuckshop volunteers.

The Mandatory Training for Volunteers and Visitors needs to be completed prior to attending class activities and class excursions

Mandatory Training for Volunteers and Visitors

School Watch

The School Watch Program is a partnership between Education Queensland, the Queensland Police Service and the State Government Protective Security Service.  It aims to reduce criminal activity in Queensland schools and encourages everyone to look out for after-hours crime in our schools.  If you see anything suspicious, please don’t attempt to intervene.

Call the School Watch number – 13 17 88

Our iPad Bring Your Own (BYO) device program is coming....

I am pleased to share some exciting news with you. From next year, we will be introducing a Pilot BYO program across all 2020 Year 4 classes, whereby these students will be invited to voluntarily bring an iPad to school to use as their own personal learning device.

In Week 6, all current year three families will receive an email, explaining the program and providing a link to our iPad BYO Program information booklet. The initial Year 4 Pilot program is not only an opportunity to enhance and upscale innovative teaching and learning opportunities for students, but also to ensure that the school network and infrastructure is able to manage increased demand as the iPad program develops and evolves each year.

The 2020 Year 4 implementation timeline

• 2019 Term 4, Week 6 – iPad BYO Program information book sent home via email.
• 2019 Term 4, Week 7 Thursday the 21^st of November at 6 p.m. – Parent information session.
• 2020 Term 1, Week 1, (week beginning Tuesday 28th January) – students can bring their devices to school.

Developing our iPad program

All students in Australia are expected to develop ICT General Capabilities, throughout their schooling, as mandated by the Australian Curriculum (ACARA). The integration of a wide range of ICTs and Digital Technologies  into the classroom to enhance learning outcomes for students is a priority area, identified in parent surveys and in our Strategic Planning.

The purchase and servicing of ICT devices in school, to support this aspect of the curriculum,  has been an issue all schools have been dealing with over the last few years.  At NFSS, a huge amount of funding has been used to purchase new devices that become obsolete very quickly.

In consultation with the P&C Association, our STEM Committee, including parent representatives, has examined information about different models of practice, in relation to devices in primary schools. We have also liaised with Fortitude Valley State High School and conducted a trial of laptops and iPads in Year 6, to establish which device had the most benefits in delivering the curriculum.

Similar programs have already been fully implemented in many other state schools to coincide with full implementation of the Australian Curriculum in 2020.

Background information

In preparation for this new way of working, the school has undertaken significant upgrades to connectivity (i.e. upgrades to wireless capabilities, increased bandwidth speed); hardware (laptops; iPads, robotics etc.) and continued professional development to prepare staff to successfully implement iPads and other technologies in their classrooms. Currently, all classes in the school have a pods of iPads, shared across the year levels, thanks to our P&C Association’s donations. As a result of this commitment and investment towards the school, we are now in the position where we can initially invite all Year 4 families to participate in the Pilot BYO iPad program, on a voluntary basis, commencing at the beginning of 2020.

More information

New Farm State School is fully committed to provide technology rich learning environments ensuring that students are equipped with the necessary skills to be successful citizens of the future. We thank our P&C committee, who have supported and endorsed our school’s directions with this initiative.

TERM 4 TUCKSHOP

The tuckshop will be open on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday during Term 4.

Daily specials:

• Monday – homemade beef pies, chicken pies and sausage rolls
• Wednesday – pasta (including gluten free option) and pizza
• Thursday – sushi (chicken, avocado and tuna), sushi bento box and fried rice (pork and vegetarian)
• Friday - sausage sizzle and nachos (beef and vegetarian)

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We are looking for a backup list of volunteers to help us in the tuckshop when we are unable to get enough volunteers from the class lists.

We are looking for people who would be available from 8.45am – 11am on one or more of the following days – Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. If you are able to help could you please email Vanessa at hello@nfsspandc.com.au or come and see us at the tuckshop.

We really need help to ensure that the tuckshop runs smoothly and we are able to keep providing home-cooked nutritious foods.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us in the tuckshop. We are truly grateful!!

MONEY OWING

We still have a considerable number of students owing money to the tuckshop, some from previous years. Could you please come and check with us to see if you child’s name is on the board. 

TUCKSHOP VOLUNTEERING

TERM 4

Week 5 – 2A

Week 6 - 2MB

Week 7 – 2P

Week 8 – 1/2N

Week 9 – 1F

Week 10 – 1G

Important Info About Bookings

Phone: 07 3269 0044

The number of children we can care for is limited by our licensed capacity for each site, and the number of staff available. At times we may not be able to accept a booking.

• Permanent bookings take priority if spaces are limited.
• Please give us plenty of notice for a booking so we can make sure we have enough staff to care for your children according to government requirements.
• If you need to book a date at short notice, please phone your local service to make sure your child can be cared for.

• We cannot care for a child unless we are informed in advance that they are attending – in an emergency this can be by phone or email but please make sure you have an acknowledgement from us that we have the space and staff to care for your child that day.
• If your child arrives without a booking and we are unable to contact you, we will take your child to the school office so they can arrange for you to pick them up.
• My Family Lounge is a new service from our I.T partners at QK Technologies, Australia’s premier providers of software and support services to the child care sector.

Enrolment Form

This year at New Farm State School, the staff are supporting Movember to help raise as much money and awareness as possible regarding men’s health. There are a number of ways to support this cause; firstly by clicking on the link below and learning more about the Movember foundation, sharing the New Farm SS team page, growing a Mo, being physically active and of course donating to the Movember page directly. The New Farm SS page is still growing so keep an eye open for photo updates of the teachers growing Mo’s and the team fundraising tally (currently just over $600).

During November I will be endeavouring to have some school activities organised for the students, one of which being a staff vs year 6 students game of dodgeball on a Friday afternoon (date to be confirmed). Please support the cause and get involved in any which way you can.

https://mobro.co/13994076?mc=1

 Thank you, Mr. Lawrence.

Congratulations to 3 past students now attending St James College for their Academinc Excellence  Awards.

Gibson Gray - Science  George McGrath Robertson - Business/Law

 Josiah Ashurst - Outdoor Education

Jessica Fletcher

A position exists for a Casual School Crossing Supervisor at New Farm State School

The School Crossing Supervisor may be required to work five days per fortnight in all weather conditions.  The hours of work for the School Crossing Supervisor are

1 hour and 30 mins a day and comprises 1 hour in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon.

Current crossing time:  7:55am – 8:55am and 2:55pm – 3:25pm

The current rate of pay is $30.34 per hour.

Commencement of work for the successful applicant is dependent on:

• The favourable outcome of a health assessment.
• A Positive Notice Blue Card (you do not need to have a blue card to apply for the position)

Closing date for applications: 7/2/2020

Expressions of interest to Elena Anderson, Business Manager via admin@newfarmss.eq.edu or 3358 7333.