Dear Queenscliff Parents and Carers,

Welcome back to Term 2! I hope our students and families had a relaxing and rejuvenating Autumn holiday break. Autumn is a beautiful time of the year, as we begin to notice the changing of seasons with the colours of the trees and cooler mornings. We have had an interesting start to Term 2, with Easter Monday Public Holiday, Curriculum Day and ANZAC Day Public Holiday punctuating our first week of Term 2. Students have come back settled, focused and enthusiastic for an exciting term ahead of learning and new opportunities.

As we have hit Term 2 and the UV index has reduced, students are not required to wear hats during recess and lunch.

Democracy Sausage Sizzle and Bake Sale

On Saturday 3 May, our school hosted a Democracy Sausage Sizzle and Bake Sale to raise funds to purchase new novel studies texts for our Year 3-6 students and to extend our library of decodable readers for our Prep-Year 2 students. It was a magnificent success and we were able to raise a total of $2000 on the day.

I would like to extend my gratitude and appreciation to Richard Fewster, Hely Harris and Heidi Boyd who did the majority of the organising of the barbeque, sourcing donations and sponsorship from local businesses to make it possible. The following businesses generously donated sausages, pastries, bread and condiments. Thank you!

Also, I would like to thank all of the families who generously donated delicious baked goods to be sold in the fundraiser. Not one single baked good was leftover, reflecting the quality of the donations. We had hedgehog and caramel slices, chocolate brownies, gingerbread men, Anzac biscuits, cakes and pastries. Thank you for your kitchen prowess and generosity.

I would like to thank the parents and carers who assisted on the day in preparing the stall, serving voters and cooking the barbeque.

Thank you to:

• Hely Harris

• Floor Martino

• Prudence Britton

• Heidi Boyd

• Richard Fewster

• Lara Whitton

• Naomi Stacey

• Alex Wyatt

• James Clifford

• Gary Fitzpatrick

• Elisa Brent

The Democracy Sausage Sizzle and Bake Sale would not have been possible without your enthusiasm, time and energy! Thank you!

GRIP Student Leader Conference

On Tuesday 29 April, our School Leaders and House Leaders attended the GRIP Student Leader Conference at the Geelong West Town Hall with Mrs. Tannouri. Our Student Leaders had the opportunity to meet other student leaders across the Geelong and Western Melbourne districts to learn about the traits and qualities of effective leaders. Our students participated in workshops and engaging activities and listened to guest speakers throughout the day to inspire them in their roles as student leaders at Queenscliff Primary School. They all came back to school feeling energised and buzzing with excitement about their roles as student leaders within our school.

School Review

Over the past two weeks, our school has been undertaking a School Review. We have had an external panel visit our school on Monday 28 April and Monday 5 April to review our school’s data, undertake classroom observations and to meet with parents, students and staff to gain a deeper understanding of our achievements over the past four years and to help identify possible next steps for our school. The panel is made up of an independent reviewer, two external principals, a staff member, Department staff and our School Council President.

The panel was highly impressed by our school overall. They all commented on how welcoming, calm and structured the school learning environment was and how students felt happy, safe and calm when at school. They admired the strong relationships our teachers have formed with students, fostering a supportive, safe learning environment. The panel were blown away by our results in the areas of ‘learning’ and ‘wellbeing’ and identified our school officially as a ‘High Performing School’. The panel reflected on the quality of teaching and learning experiences observed in classrooms and admired the quality of the explicit teaching modelled by our teachers.

The panel will reconvene on Monday 12 May for the final day of the School Review, whereby they will collate all of the data, evidence and information from the Review to assist our school in setting new targets that will feature in our next School’s Strategic Plan.

I feel so incredibly proud of our students, teachers and the parent community for what we have achieved so far. To be referred to as a ‘High Performing School’ is a feather in every students’, parents’ and teachers’ cap in our school community. Congratulations QPS!

Soccer Lightning Premiership

This Thursday 8 May, we will have two Year 5/6 teams participating in the Soccer Lightning Premiership. Over the past month, the girls and boys teams have been undertaking training sessions at lunchtime with Mr Churchill in preparation for the event. Congratulations to the following students who were selected to represent Queenscliff Primary School at the Soccer Lightning Premiership:

Literary Festival

In the coming weeks, our students will have the opportunity to participate in Author Workshops as part of the Queenscliff Literary Festival. The workshops will be held at St Aloysius Parish Hall. Our Prep-Year 2 students will meet Beth and Byll (Teeny Tiny Stevies) author of ‘Boss of Your Own Mind’ and our Year 3-4 students will meet Felicia Arena, author of ‘The Unstoppable Flying Flanagan’. Our Year 5/6 students will meet Huda Hayek, author of the book ‘Huda and Me’. These workshops are a wonderful opportunity for our students to meet real authors, learn new writing skills and to feel inspiration and creativity to write. The workshops also aim to expand their reading interests and vocabulary.

IDAHOBIT Day

On Friday 16th May, our school will be hosting IDAHOBIT Day, where all students, staff and parents are welcome to wear rainbow colours to raise awareness about the discrimination faced by the LGBTQIA+ community and promote acceptance and equality. IDAHOBIT Day is an important day to promote inclusivity, respect and to celebrate diversity within our school community. Throughout the day, students will participate in a variety of learning activities linked to inclusivity. The Prep- Year 2 classes will focus on diverse families and the Year 3-6 classes will focus on the concepts of inclusion, diversity, acceptance and bullying.

Bikes and Scooters on School Grounds

In recent weeks, we have had students riding their scooters and bikes on school grounds before or after school shortly near pick up/drop off times. Due to the large number of families and younger children on the grounds, this poses a significant safety risk for a collision or injury. As a result, I encourage families to remind their children to not ride on school grounds with their scooters or bikes in the mornings before or after school. Upon arrival at school, students are to walk their bike/scooter to the bike storage area near the vegetable garden. They are to use the gate on Stokes street when entering/exiting the school. Bikes and scooters are not permitted to be ridden in other areas of the school grounds or playground. Thank you for your support in supporting the safety of our school.

School Volunteer Training

Our school will be hosting School Volunteers Training on Thursday 8 May from 3:15-4:15pm in Term 2 for any parents, grandparents or community members who wish to volunteer to assist in the Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 classes. To register, please scan the QR code below.

Gardening Grannies

Our school has recently had a group of retired women, known as the ‘Gardening Grannies’ (self-titled), coming into our school as volunteers to assist with our vegetable garden. We are absolutely delighted to have their support and they have shown enthusiasm and eagerness to become part of our school community. Our students have had the opportunity to spend time with the ‘Gardening Grannies’ during Gardening Club on Wednesday lunchtimes and during Science lessons.

Assembly

Our first assembly for Term 2 will be held on Friday 9 May 2025. Parents, carers and community members are invited to join us for this special celebration whereby we will have 5/6H, Year 2 and Science showcasing their learning.

School Council

Our next School Council meeting will be held on Monday 19 May in Term 2. I look forward to meeting with our 2025 School Council members to discuss school operations and planning for 2025. If you have correspondence or feedback you would like to provide to the School Council, parents and carers are invited to email our School Council President, Daniela Sayegh at daniela.sayegh@education.vic.gov.au .

Nyatne baa Gobata

(Thank you and take care)

Mat McRae

Principal

Performing Arts News

It’s an exciting term for Performing Arts at QPS! We have a number of excursions, incursions, and performances planned to inspire and engage our students:

• Grade 3/4 students will experience the vibrant rhythms of an African Drumming Incursion this term. Through hands-on workshops, students will explore traditional African music, rhythm, and culture.
• Grade 2 students are spreading joy beyond our school gates! They will be visiting Arcare Aged Care in Point Lonsdale to perform a selection of songs.
• Grade 5/6 students will head to the Geelong Arts Centre to watch a live production of High School Musical. This will be a fantastic opportunity for them to experience professional theatre and see all the elements of a live performance come together.
• Prep-2 student will look forward to a Circus skills Incursion early Term 3

Introducing the Cast of Shrek Jr.!

We are thrilled to announce the cast for our 2025 school musical, Shrek Jr. Congratulations to all students who auditioned — your talent, enthusiasm, and dedication made casting a very difficult task! Here is the cast for this year's production:

Rehearsals are already underway, and we can’t wait to see the magic unfold on stage later this year!

We are still seeking EOI for the following Coordinator roles:
These roles are ideal for those who enjoy organising and leading a small team.
Costume Coordinator – Oversees the costume process, including sourcing, organising fittings, and delegating sewing tasks.
Props Coordinator – Manages the list of required props, sources or creates them, and ensures they are ready for rehearsals and performance.

If you're interested in getting involved, please let us know which area you’d like to support by completing this link: Production Crew EOI Survey Link.

Your involvement, no matter how big or small, will make a huge difference in ensuring our students have a memorable and successful production experience. Thank you for all those families who have completed the survey. Mrs Petrie will be in contact in the coming weeks.