Class News

Grade Prep News
Exploring the world through the 5 senses.

Our Prep children have been learning about The 5 senses and how we use the senses to experience and learn about the world. Last week the Prep children dove into the world of touch! We ventured out to the yard to explore the world through touch. We looked for natural items that had different textures, feeling items that were rough, smooth, bumpy, soft, and prickly.

The Preps then created collages of different textures using the treasures they found in the yard. Through this hands-on activity, the children deepened their understanding of touch and had a blast exploring the world around them.

On Friday, the Preps will be heading to the Beach to further explore learning about the senses and to articulate how they utilize their senses while enjoying the Beach.

Grade 3/4TA News
'Show' not 'Tell'

In Grade 3/4TA we have been focusing on narrative writing and have learnt about 'show not tell' - this is a writing technique in which story and characters are related through actions, thoughts and sensory details. It fosters a more immersive writing style for the reader, allowing them to “be in the room” with the characters.

For example:
Telling: She was shocked.
Showing: Marigold's head turned sharply, her eyes scanning the cave. Suddenly her eyes locked on a rocky ledge, her eyes widened with uncertainty. Her eyebrows leaped up like frogs. Her stomach leaped and her legs gave way beneath her in discomfort and unsettlement.
Written by Eve L

Telling: She was afraid.
Showing: Luna's legs felt like jelly as goosebumps floated up to her face.
Written by Macy M

Telling: She was tired.
Showing: Bella's eyelids sagged as she tried to carry the increasing weight of them, wishing she had slept that night.
Written by Jude S

We then worked hard to publish our narratives using Canva, and included an engaging front cover and blurb to hook in our readers. We hope you enjoy the little snippet from our published narratives below, that we are very proud of!

We have also been learning to 'read images' where we have looked at how different angles in an illustration or photograph can evoke different emotions in our readers. For example a low angle, looking up at a character, will make the character look more superior or even scary. Miss Trunchbull in Matilda is often illustrated or photographed from this angle. When reading at home together see if you can spot the different angles used in illustrations and discuss how these make you feel!

Matilda

Cross Country News

Last week, it was truly inspiring to witness students from every year level participating in our school-wide cross-country event. I want to extend a massive congratulations to all our dedicated runners who embraced the challenge of our cross-country course.

Exciting news awaits as we have 34 students who have qualified for the district round of the cross country, scheduled to take place next week at Eastern Gardens in Geelong.

In the 2km race for 9 and 10-year-old boys, the representatives for QPS are Xavier G, Marcel S, Tommy M, Jude S, George K, and Kim G.

For the 2km race in the 9 and 10-year-old girls category, our representatives from QPS are Alice H, Nyah L, Nienke M, Sadie M, Georgie W, Isabelle B, Aria W, Heidi K, Ruby S, Amelie S, Eva T, and Ella C, Rosie L, Betty H, Eve L, and Lou Lou F.

In the 3km race for 11, 12, and 13-year-old boys, the representatives for QPS are Beau M, Aike M, Oliver K, Charlie H, and Henry M.

Representing QPS in the 3km race for 11, 12, and 13-year-old girls are Zuri L, Mae G, Loretta B, Kitty B, Macki J H, Asher C, and Ruby V.

Regarding the house results, the points for this event have been tallied and added to our overall house totals. Gellibrand House secured the first position with 158 points, followed closely by Learmonth House with 157 points. Fraser House secured third place with 109 points, while Hobson House earned 98 points.

On Wednesday, the 27th of March, our students will travel by bus to Eastern Gardens, where they will compete against students from five other schools who have also achieved qualifying times in their respective local school events.

We extend our best wishes to all our students participating in this upcoming event. Good luck!

Grade 3/4TH News
Our Identities

In our Grade 3/4TH, we've been exploring the world of identity. We have been expressing ourselves through art! Each student got to dive deep into their uniqueness by creating art that reflects who they are. From hometown pride to hobbies and strengths. We discussed family bonds and cultural roots and students discussed all the things that make them who they are.

Community News

Auskick
BPA

Bellarine Performing Arts

Our mission at Bellarine Performing Arts is to enrich the lives of young performers in a fun, safe and creative environment. Whether it’s expanding abilities or building confidence, we are here to enhance our community by providing theatre arts education, dance, musical theatre, vocal training and performance opportunities.

For more information and enrolments visit our website at:

www.bellarineperformingarts.com.au

KOKADA

Principal's Report - 22nd March

Dear Queenscliff Parents and Carers,

I want to congratulate every single student who competed in our QPS Cross Country carnival last Thursday 14 March. I was proud to hear that so many of our students showcased persistence, grit and optimism in their participation in the event. Cross country running is a challenge, but a very worthwhile endeavour that leaves one feeling accomplished and proud. We were impressed with the enthusiasm and sportsmanship students displayed in singing house chants throughout the morning to encourage their peers. I would like to extend my gratitude and appreciation to Melissa Fitzgerald, for her outstanding leadership in organising the carnival, and to all of the staff and parent volunteers who assisted on the day. It was a tremendous event and a wonderful opportunity for our students to display team spirit and persistence!

As we conclude Week 8, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge what an incredible and jam-packed Term 1 we have had. We have had a busy Term 1 with Meet and Greet interviews, Literacy parent workshops, Parent Information Evenings, Ride/Walk to School Day, school photos, excursions and incursions, NAPLAN, assemblies, website redesign, Lightning Premiership Cricket, cross country, School Council nominations, Open Mornings and fundraising initiatives. I am grateful for the outstanding commitment, passion and enthusiasm of our teachers, education support staff and administration team in making the start of the school year brilliant for our students and parent community. We have achieved a great deal!

Welcome to our new Business Manager

Tansy Young has been appointed our Business Manager, replacing Dune Richards and Sylvia Tomkin. Tansy has gained a wealth of experience and knowledge as a Business Manager at Newcomb Secondary College and Drysdale Primary School. Tansy will commence her appointment at our school at the beginning of Term 2. Please join me in welcoming Tansy to our school community. She will be a tremendous asset to our staff.

School Council Positions

The School Council met on Monday 18 March for our Annual General Meeting (AGM). The School Council elected Noami Stacey as the new President for the upcoming year, Sharna Thomason as the Vice-President and Lisa Golightly as the treasurer. School Council discussed school operations and approved costs for school camps and ‘Learn to Swim’ program for Prep to Year 4 in Term 2.

Parent Class Representatives

Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to be class representatives for 2024.. Melissa and I look forward to meeting with the following class representatives at Shelter Shed on Wednesday 24 April 2024 for a coffee and morning tea at 10:00am.

Prep - Alex Wyatt

Year 1 - Elise Kerney and Laura Clarke

Year 2 - Kelly Clifford and Elisa Brent

3/4TH - Naomi Stacey

3/4F - Guy Le Page

3/4TA - Michelle Grainger

We had no parent volunteers to be class representatives for 5/6C and 5/6PH. If you are interested in being a representative, please email me at mathew.mcrae@education.vic.gov.au .

Lonsdale House Prep Readiness Workshop and Open Morning

On Tuesday 19 March, Jackie Morris, Melissa Fitzgerald and I delivered a ‘Getting Ready for Prep’ presentation at Lonsdale House to prospective families for 2025/26. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet new families and provide useful information to support their child in preparing for school next year.

This morning, we had our first Open Morning for prospective families. They were invited into our school for a tour and participated in a short presentation delivered by Jackie Morris, our Prep Teacher. Our Open Morning sessions aim to provide future families of our school with an opportunity to learn more about our values, learning programs and wellbeing initiatives.

Easter Scavenger Hunt with Lonsdale House and Prep

On Thursday 21 March, we had children from Lonsdale House join us for an Easter Scavenger Hunt with our Preps and 5/6C class. Our Year 5/6 students were fantastic buddies to the Preps and Lonsdale House children, assisting them on the hunt around the playground to find mini chickens, plastic easter eggs and carrots.

Harmony Day

On Thursday 21 March, our school celebrated Harmony Day with students accessorising with the colour orange and participating in a range of learning activities focused on diversity, acceptance and inclusion. This year’s theme ‘Everyone Belongs’ was integrated into a range of activities including students designing logos to represent the diversity in our community, creation of artworks linked with identity and differences, exploring census data across Australia and Victoria, learning about different environmental issues in other countries and their approaches to renewable energy and the exploration of important topics such as racism and discrimination.

NAPLAN

This week our Year 3 and Year 5 students completed NAPLAN assessments. We are extremely proud of our students’ effort, persistence and resilience in undertaking these assessments. Thank you to Mr Harry Thompson and the teaching team for coordinating the administration of these assessments. Parents will receive student reports later in the year reflecting your child’s achievement against the state and national averages across all four assessments, Reading, Conventions of Language, Writing and Numeracy.

Newsletter Release

Next term, our school newsletter will be released onto the school website every fortnight on a Tuesday afternoon. It will no longer be released on a Friday afternoon due to changes in our school timetable and operations. Parents will continue to receive a Compass notification informing them of when the newsletter has been uploaded to our school website.

Assembly

I look forward to parents, families and community members joining us for our final assembly for Term 1 next Thursday 28 March at 9:00am. It will be a special assembly whereby Queenscliff Music Festival will present a cheque of $10,000 to our school to support our participation in the Greener School Government Grant and solar panel installation. We look forward to Prep and 3/4F sharing their learning throughout the term.

Easter Raffle - Thank You

Thank you to all of the amazing donations from families for the Easter Raffle. Donations for the hampers close today, Friday 22nd March. All sold and unsold raffle ticket booklets and funds raised are to be returned to the school office. The Easter Raffle will be drawn at our final assembly on Thursday 28 March 2024.

Book Swap

Indigenous Literacy Foundation Fundraiser

The Great Book Swap is a fundraising activity that supports the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and their works with remote Communities across Australia. The Indigenous Literacy Foundation is a charity that works with 424 remote Communities to supply books and literacy resources, and publish books in First Languages by and for First Nations Peoples.

The QPS Great Book Swap will be held on Monday 25 March 2024. Students are to bring a gold coin donation in order to select a book from the Book Fair. Students who do not bring a gold coin donation will not be able to select books from the Book Fair. We would like to extend a huge thank you to all of the families who have donated the second hand books to enable us to host the Great Book Swap. Your donations have been incredibly valuable in our efforts to support the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

Congratulations Xavier

I would like to extend a huge congratulations to Xavier Grainger in Year 4 at QPS who was selected for the Geelong Country Championships Under 11 side for soccer. He will represent South Geelong. We are extremely proud of Xavier who has undergone a lengthy selection process to be chosen to be part of the team. The selections started with 70 candidates and Xavier made it to the final 13 players to form the Geelong South team. Selectors made their decisions based on individual skills, team dynamics, coachability and leadership qualities. Xavier will represent Geelong South and compete against other regional soccer sides across the state. Xavier has played soccer for the Ocean Grove side, Surfside Waves, for the past two seasons. In addition to this, Xavier has been selected for the 2024 Football Victorial Regional Skill Acqusition Phase (SAP) camps. As part of SAP, he will attend camps during the school holidays with students selected from regional and metro areas across the state. We are so incredibly proud of Xavier and he is tremendous achievements. We wish him all the best in the Geelong Country Championships and I know he will be an outstanding ambassador for our school. Well done Xav!

Term 2 Commencement

Term 1 will conclude on Thursday 28 March 2024, the day before the Good Friday public holiday. Term 2 for students will commence on Tuesday 16 April 2024. Monday 15 April will be a student-free day as teachers will be engaging in curriculum planning and professional development.

As this is our final newsletter for Term 1, I wish all of our QPS students, families and friends a relaxing Easter break and enjoyable holiday. I hope families can enjoy quality time together enjoying the cooler Autumn weather throughout the break and I look forward to seeing you next term.

Nyatne baa Gobata

(Thank you and take care)

Mat McRae

Principal


Community News

Auskick
BPA

Bellarine Performing Arts

Our mission at Bellarine Performing Arts is to enrich the lives of young performers in a fun, safe and creative environment. Whether it’s expanding abilities or building confidence, we are here to enhance our community by providing theatre arts education, dance, musical theatre, vocal training and performance opportunities.

For more information and enrolments visit our website at:

www.bellarineperformingarts.com.au

KOKADA
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