Principal's Message - 19th September

Dear Queenscliff Parents and Carers,

Time flies when you are having fun! We have reached the final week of a busy and engaging Term 3. Before we embark on our school holiday break, it is important for us to take time to reflect on some of the key highlights from this term that have enriched the lives of our students, teachers and school community;

  • The spectacular QPS Art Show - ‘It's Alive’ - The event of the year! It was truly magical. It was a brilliant celebration of our students’ creativity, imagination and perspective hosted in the Queenscliff community.

  • Book Week - The amazing costume parade and exploration of quality literature

  • Science Day - Students participating in hands-on experiments based on the concept of sustainability and endangered species.

  • Toy and Book Fair - Raising over $360 to support Cottage by the Sea

  • Athletics Days at Goldsworthy Reserve and QPS

  • Parent Teacher Interviews - an opportunity to meet with you child’s teacher to celebrate their successes and achievements this year

  • Pickleball and basketball clinics

  • Year 3/4 Song Room performance

  • Trivia for Nature fundraising at 360Q

  • Year 5/6 Showcase at the Geelong Performing Arts Centre

  • The ultimate Class Container Challenge that has promoted sustainability, care for our environment and collaboration.

Not to mention, the quality teaching and learning that happens every day in your child’s classroom. I am extremely grateful for the persistent effort, enthusiasm, professionalism and dedication embodied by our teachers and Education Support staff at Queenscliff Primary School each and everyday. They strive to provide a safe, inclusive and supportive learning environment for your children, encouraging them to aim high and supporting them to grow in confidence by taking up every opportunity available. I am proud of our staff at QPS.

Trivia for Nature

On Friday 6 September, our school hosted a ‘Trivia for Nature’ fundraiser at 360Q. It was a highly engaging and interactive evening where our school community came together to connect, fundraise and have fun. I would like to thank all of our parents, families, staff and community members who attended the evening and committed to the dress up themes. There were many different themes of costumes, from trees/nature, ‘country and western’ to german lederhosens. Our parent community is certainly a creative bunch!

In total, we were able to raise $3,179.20 from ticket sales, the raffle and silent auction. All of the proceeds from the fundraiser will go towards the Nature Play Space planned to be built in 2025 in our school playground.

I would like to take this opportunity thank Mrs. Hannah Petrie and Mrs. Ebony Tannouri who hosted the trivia competition and extend a special thank you to Lisa Golightly and Daniela Sayegh for all of their time, energy and support in seeking donations for raffle prizes and the silent auction items.

Thank you to the following businesses, families and community members who generously donated raffle prizes and silent auction items.

13th Beach Golf Links

Shelter Shed

Farm Foods Queenscliff

Hello Sauna

360Q

Queenscliff Music Festival

Bellarine Golden Olive

Bellarine Adventure Golf

Leura Park

Lonnie Fish and Chips

The Bookshop at Queenscliff

Point Lonsdale Health and Wellness

The Mex

O Space

Curlewis Golf Club

Cliffe’s Pizza

Point Lonsdale Guest House

Tilia Fashion & Accessories

Ristevski Lawyers

Labten Queenscliff

Noble Rot

Adventure Park

Queenscliff Distillery

School Saving Bonus

The Victorian Government is making life that little bit easier for families by providing a one-off $400 School Saving Bonus. This support will help cover the cost of school uniforms and school activities like camps, excursions and sports in 2025. The $400 cannot be used for book packs or stationery supplies for your child. Our school will require financial contributions from families to pay for stationery and book pack supplies for 2025. This information will be provided to families at the beginning of Term 4.

The School Saving Bonus will be provided to schools and families in Term 4, 2024 ready to be used in 2025. Families may also wish to watch the video message from the Minister of Education, Ben Carroll regarding the School Saving Bonus.

In order for families to access the School Saving Bonus, we require each family to complete the Parent Contact Details Form to update your email address. Information and access to the School Saving Bonus will be sent to families via their email address. It is important that all families complete the form below and provide their current, up to date email address in order for you to access the School Saving Bonus. This must be completed by Friday 20 September 2024.

School Saving Bonus Parent Contact Details Form

Year 5/6 Performing Arts

Geelong Schools Music and Movement Festival

Yesterday, our Grade 5/6 students proudly represented our school at the Geelong Schools Music and Movement Festival, showcasing their talents through dance, musical theatre, and band performances. This festival is a wonderful celebration of the creativity and passion that exists within our school community, and our students delivered outstanding performances.

A big thank you to all staff and families who supported our performers by attending the event, and a special mention to Mrs. Petrie for her incredible dedication, hard work, and inspiration in preparing our young performers. To view videos of the performances head to the 'Performing Arts News Section'

Performing Arts News

SRC Container Challenge

Over the past 10 weeks, the SRC has coordinated the Class Container Challenge. It has been a huge effort from students, teachers and our parent community. I would like to take this opportunity to thank your SRC and Ms. Teyha Robertson for coordinating the program. Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who have given up their time to collect their child’s class contribution on a weekly basis to deposit at a container centre. Overall, our school was able to raise $887.40 across all classes. The individual class results will be announced at assembly on Friday. Classes will have the opportunity to decide how they would like to spend their raised funds from the Class Container Challenge in Term 4. The Class Container Challenge has been a wonderful opportunity for our students to demonstrate leadership, care for their environment and gain a deeper understanding of the importance of recycling.

This challenge is a perfect example of how, when we work together, we can achieve great things.

Queenscliffe Community Market

Queenscliffe Community Market will recommence for this year on Sunday 29 September from 9am-2pm at Lower Princess Park. The Queenscliffe Community Market donates a significant contribution to our school to support learning materials, technology, playground improvements, gardens and wellbeing programs. From 2023/2024, the Queenscliffe Community Market donated $20,300 to our school.

The Queenscliffe Community Market could not run without the support of our parent volunteers who assist with the setup and running of the market. I extend my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to every family who assisted with the marker in 2023/2024 - your time, energy and effort has significantly contributed to the success of the market and as a result, raising enough funds for the market to give a generous donation to our school - a total of $20,300. Thank you!

Kelly Sports in Term 4

Next term, students are invited to join the Kelly Sports Club after school every Wednesday from 16 October. Kelly Sports Club will commence at 3:10pm and conclude at 4:20pm. Students will have the opportunity to learn new skills and engage in a variety of sports in a fun, supportive environment. They will learn key skills for basketball, cricket, hockey, soccer and tennis throughout the term. If you wish to sign your child up to Kelly Sports Club for Term 4, please email Kelly Sports at geelong@kellysports.com.au .

R U OK? Day

Last Thursday 12 September, our school celebrated R U OK? Day. R U OK? Day aims to inspire and empower our students to meaningfully connect with those around them and start a conversation with those in their world who may be facing challenges in their daily life. R U OK? Day is an important day where we aim to instil the value and character trait of empathy within our students. It is important that we can recognise when someone else is having a challenging or ‘down’ day and to check-in with them to see if they need any support or just an ear to listen. On the day, students dressed with a splash of yellow and had the opportunity to purchase R U OK? wristbands to promote the cause. Students participated in an R U OK? Day wellbeing workshop where they learnt about four key steps to help them have a conversation with someone who is facing a challenge. Students learnt to ask “R U OK?”, listen, encourage action, check in with their friends. Thank you to Mrs Fullard and our Year 5 Wellbeing Leader, Saskia Fitzgerald for organising the event and meaningful learning experiences for our school.

Prep to Year 3 Athletics Day

On Friday 6 September, our Prep to Year 3 students participated in an Athletics Day. It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm and sportsmanship shown by our students as they eagerly participated in a range of events. Students earned House points as they competed in long jump, high jump, novelty races including sack races and egg and spoon, sprinting and shotput. Thank you to Mrs. Melissa Fitzgerald for her outstanding organisation and leadership in coordinating this event for our students.

Prep Transition 2025

On Tuesday 10 September, our school had our first Prep Transition session with our new prep students attending our school in 2025. It was a complete success! Our future Prep students had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Jackie Morris who will be their Prep teacher in 2025 and spend time in their classroom. Students explored the playground on a scavenger hunt to find magical items to add to their potions. We were impressed by all of the children that attended our first Prep Transition session and we look forward to their next visit on Thursday 17 October.

Victorian High Ability Program

Congratulations to Charlie High, Zuri Lapham, Jemma Sheridan who have been selected to participate in the Victorian High Ability Program for English in Term 4. Also, a huge congratulations to Jack McDonald who has been selected to participate in the program for Mathematics.

Assembly

Our final assembly for Term 3 will be held this Friday 20 September at 9:00am. We look forward to parents, families and friends of our school community joining us for our end of term celebration. We will have our Year 5/6 students performing, as well as 3/4TA and 3/4F showcasing their learning. The first assembly for Term 4 will be held in Week 3 on Friday 25 October 2024.

School Council

Our next School Council meeting will be held on Monday 21 October 2024. I look forward to meeting with our School Council members to discuss school operations, planning for 2025 and school budgets.

I wish all of our QPS families a safe, relaxing and rejuvenating school holiday break. Term 4 will commence on Monday 7 October 2024.

Nyatne baa Gobata

(Thank you and take care)

Mat McRae

Principal

Class News

Grade 5/6 News

Year 5 and 6 have been exploring creative texts and how to apply poetic devices to their writing. The use of rhyme, alliteration, onomatopoeia, similes, metaphors, and personification have helped further develop their skills to become slam poets!! Slam Poetry is a more modern style of poetry which commonly focuses on communicating expressive stories. Using research on early Australian history, students worked to adopt a character and present an “echo from the past”. With tales from Aboriginal Australian, convicts, miners in the gold fields and refugees seeking safety, we have been impressed with our student’s maturity and sensitivity to retell a time from history. Please enjoy some short exerts from students work, we are very proud of what they have produced.

Grade 5/6 - Slam Poetry

Life was cold, life was dark, life was without any hope.

The year was 1786, and the world seemed empty, desperate and shallow.

English streets are unforgiving, so I committed crime.

Stealing bread, stealing fruit and anything I can loot.

Hoped and hoped no one would know.

Jails are overflowing, desperation is growing.

I had a home you see, when I was once so free.

Taken from my home, never to see it again.

My culture ruined by big men.

I was relocated, put onto a reserve, they said it was what I deserved.

New home, new friends, new family… I hope I don’t lose part of me

Pushed around, punched around, ordered around.

Put into groups of other helpless convicts, assigned to a sergeant.

Sleeping on the ground, mining in the ground, whipped on the ground.

I’m a farmer now, like most have become.

Cotton shirts, canvas pants stuck in my memory like the non-existent equality.

I lie in bed and wonder about this world like thunder

First Nations News

In First Nations Studies, Grade 3/4 students have been learning about history of European settlement in Australia and the impact that this has had on First Nations people. Children have learned about the importance of keeping First Nations languages alive. How do we do this? We learn as much Wadawurrung language as we can. Students have been using simple phrases and Wadawurrung vocabulary and putting the words into board games that they have designed themselves. By playing these games, we practise speaking Wadawurrung words and we do our part in keeping the language alive in the voices of both First Nations and non-First Nations people.

Term 3 PE Wrap-Up

The past few weeks have been action-packed for our PE department! Here’s a quick recap:

QPS P-3 Mini Athletics Carnival

Our Prep to Grade 3 Mini Athletics Carnival was a huge success, filled with smiles and friendly competition. A big congratulations to all the students who participated in running, jumping, and balancing events. Special thanks to the students from Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College for helping with events and joining the fun races at the end of the day. Our carnival earned over 1,000 house points, and here are the final scores:

  • Fraser: 234 points
  • Gellibrand: 249 points
  • Learmonth: 280 points
  • Hobson: 304 points (winner!)

We would like to send a special thank you to all parents who attended, supported and participated in our fun day. We were extremely lucky to complete our events as the rain started.

Division Athletics at Goldsworthy Reserve, Corio

Ten QPS students represented us last Tuesday at the Division Athletics in Corio. Well done to all participants for their fantastic efforts! Here are the results:

Student

Event

Result

Jasmine LeRodda

100M

9th - 16.34 sec

200M

13th - 35.71 sec

Mae Gorgievski

200M

12th - 36.14 sec

Winter Boyd

200M

14th - 39.49 sec

Discus

13th - 10.77m

Zuri Lapham

800M

8th - 3:35 min

Aria Wolter

Long Jump

10th - 2.46m

Annabelle Clingan

Long Jump

13th - 2.76m

Triple Jump

11th - 5.42m

Olivia Warring

Shot Put

13th - 4.59m

Discus

11th - 11.55m

Sophia Erichsen

Shot Put

9th - 6.24m

Xavier Grainger

200M

6th - 33.15 sec

800M

4th - 2:45.50 min

Jude Spencer

Triple Jump

11th - 6.03m

Shot Put

11th - 6.34m

Ravi Patel

100M, 800M

Qualified but unable to attend

Beau Miezkowski

800M, Triple Jump

Qualified but unable to attend

Nyah Lapham

800M

Qualified but unable to attend

Basketball and Tee Ball Lightning Premiership

The Basketball and Tee Ball Lightning Premiership, originally set for Term 3, will now take place in early Term 4. We’ll confirm the date soon once all schools finalize their schedules.

Footy Day

This Friday is Footy Day! Don’t forget to place your sausage sizzle order with your teacher or Mrs. Young in the office. We’ll have a fun student vs. teachers football game during lunchtime, followed by football activities for Grades Prep to 4 from 2-3pm. It’s sure to be a fun way to end Term 3!

Coach Ken and Cricket

Coach Ken has been back to teach our students some exciting cricket skills and drills. If you’re interested in more cricket fun, the Queenscliff Cricket Club is hosting a 3-day clinic starting this Sunday (22nd September) through to Tuesday (24th September). The cost is $20 per day, and you can join for one, two, or all three days. For details, contact the Queenscliff Cricket Club.

Kelly Sports in Term 4

Kelly Sports will be offering after-school fun for students on Wednesdays in Term 4. If interested, visit the Kelly Sports website for more information and to sign up.
https://kellysports.com.au/geelong

We hope everyone enjoys the school holidays and comes back ready for more sporting action in Term 4!

Performing Arts News

Yesterday, our students travelled to the Geelong Performing Arts Centre to participate in the Geelong Schools Music and Movement Festival. This fantastic event brought together schools from across the Geelong region, showcasing the incredible talent and creativity of students through music, dance, and performance. It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to connect with others, celebrate the arts, and experience the excitement of performing in a professional setting.

The festival highlights the importance of fostering creativity, teamwork, and confidence in young people. It's a powerful reminder of how the arts can bring communities together and give students a platform to shine. We are so proud of our Grade 5/6 students who dedicated the past two terms to prepare for this event.

Their performances included a Matilda Mashup, a lively Better When I’m Dancin’ routine, a fun-filled Super Mario Dance, Mamma Mia performed by our talented school band, and an original song by the incredibly talented Beau.

We were blown away by what they achieved on the day and couldn't be prouder of their efforts. If you missed the event, videos of the performances are available below. The students will also be performing these numbers tomorrow after assembly, so feel free to stay and enjoy the show!

Thanks,
Mrs. Petrie

Community News

Class News

QPS Staff

710

Grade 5/6 News

Year 5 and 6 have been exploring creative texts and how to apply poetic devices to their writing. The use of rhyme, alliteration, onomatopoeia, similes, metaphors, and personification have helped further develop their skills to become slam poets!! Slam Poetry is a more modern style of poetry which commonly focuses on communicating expressive stories. Using research on early Australian history, students worked to adopt a character and present an “echo from the past”. With tales from Aboriginal Australian, convicts, miners in the gold fields and refugees seeking safety, we have been impressed with our student’s maturity and sensitivity to retell a time from history. Please enjoy some short exerts from students work, we are very proud of what they have produced.

Grade 5/6 - Slam Poetry

Life was cold, life was dark, life was without any hope.

The year was 1786, and the world seemed empty, desperate and shallow.

English streets are unforgiving, so I committed crime.

Stealing bread, stealing fruit and anything I can loot.

Hoped and hoped no one would know.

Jails are overflowing, desperation is growing.

I had a home you see, when I was once so free.

Taken from my home, never to see it again.

My culture ruined by big men.

I was relocated, put onto a reserve, they said it was what I deserved.

New home, new friends, new family… I hope I don’t lose part of me

Pushed around, punched around, ordered around.

Put into groups of other helpless convicts, assigned to a sergeant.

Sleeping on the ground, mining in the ground, whipped on the ground.

I’m a farmer now, like most have become.

Cotton shirts, canvas pants stuck in my memory like the non-existent equality.

I lie in bed and wonder about this world like thunder

First Nations News

In First Nations Studies, Grade 3/4 students have been learning about history of European settlement in Australia and the impact that this has had on First Nations people. Children have learned about the importance of keeping First Nations languages alive. How do we do this? We learn as much Wadawurrung language as we can. Students have been using simple phrases and Wadawurrung vocabulary and putting the words into board games that they have designed themselves. By playing these games, we practise speaking Wadawurrung words and we do our part in keeping the language alive in the voices of both First Nations and non-First Nations people.

Term 3 PE Wrap-Up

The past few weeks have been action-packed for our PE department! Here’s a quick recap:

QPS P-3 Mini Athletics Carnival

Our Prep to Grade 3 Mini Athletics Carnival was a huge success, filled with smiles and friendly competition. A big congratulations to all the students who participated in running, jumping, and balancing events. Special thanks to the students from Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College for helping with events and joining the fun races at the end of the day. Our carnival earned over 1,000 house points, and here are the final scores:

  • Fraser: 234 points
  • Gellibrand: 249 points
  • Learmonth: 280 points
  • Hobson: 304 points (winner!)

We would like to send a special thank you to all parents who attended, supported and participated in our fun day. We were extremely lucky to complete our events as the rain started.

Division Athletics at Goldsworthy Reserve, Corio

Ten QPS students represented us last Tuesday at the Division Athletics in Corio. Well done to all participants for their fantastic efforts! Here are the results:

Student

Event

Result

Jasmine LeRodda

100M

9th - 16.34 sec

200M

13th - 35.71 sec

Mae Gorgievski

200M

12th - 36.14 sec

Winter Boyd

200M

14th - 39.49 sec

Discus

13th - 10.77m

Zuri Lapham

800M

8th - 3:35 min

Aria Wolter

Long Jump

10th - 2.46m

Annabelle Clingan

Long Jump

13th - 2.76m

Triple Jump

11th - 5.42m

Olivia Warring

Shot Put

13th - 4.59m

Discus

11th - 11.55m

Sophia Erichsen

Shot Put

9th - 6.24m

Xavier Grainger

200M

6th - 33.15 sec

800M

4th - 2:45.50 min

Jude Spencer

Triple Jump

11th - 6.03m

Shot Put

11th - 6.34m

Ravi Patel

100M, 800M

Qualified but unable to attend

Beau Miezkowski

800M, Triple Jump

Qualified but unable to attend

Nyah Lapham

800M

Qualified but unable to attend

Basketball and Tee Ball Lightning Premiership

The Basketball and Tee Ball Lightning Premiership, originally set for Term 3, will now take place in early Term 4. We’ll confirm the date soon once all schools finalize their schedules.

Footy Day

This Friday is Footy Day! Don’t forget to place your sausage sizzle order with your teacher or Mrs. Young in the office. We’ll have a fun student vs. teachers football game during lunchtime, followed by football activities for Grades Prep to 4 from 2-3pm. It’s sure to be a fun way to end Term 3!

Coach Ken and Cricket

Coach Ken has been back to teach our students some exciting cricket skills and drills. If you’re interested in more cricket fun, the Queenscliff Cricket Club is hosting a 3-day clinic starting this Sunday (22nd September) through to Tuesday (24th September). The cost is $20 per day, and you can join for one, two, or all three days. For details, contact the Queenscliff Cricket Club.

Kelly Sports in Term 4

Kelly Sports will be offering after-school fun for students on Wednesdays in Term 4. If interested, visit the Kelly Sports website for more information and to sign up.
https://kellysports.com.au/geelong

We hope everyone enjoys the school holidays and comes back ready for more sporting action in Term 4!

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