Bray Park State School

Newsletter 24th November 2009

Vol 39 24 Nov 2009

Dear Families

It’s finally happening! The builders commenced today on our classroom upgrades. This is an exciting time for the school, but it is also going to be fairly disruptive, as classes in most Blocks will be required to relocate for several days at a time. Because of this, we are having to do a lot of our end of year packing up somewhat earlier.

Please don’t be surprised if your child starts bringing home many of their books this week. It’s not that their educational program is winding down early, it’s just that we need to pare down the amount of equipment children and teachers will be moving from place to place. Don’t be surprised either, if you drop your child off in one place in the morning and find them in a completely different classroom in the afternoon. We will try to give notice of this beforehand, but it may not always be possible to do so.

Any parents who have some spare time on their hands may wish to see class teachers about helping with the pack-up. I know this will be appreciated, especially in the younger class (from Year 1).

It has been lovely to see such a big turnout of parents, grandparents and even older brothers and sisters helping out with 2010 book packs over the past few days. These people are doing a wonderful service for all Bray Park parents and they should be congratulated. Thank you!

FACEBOOK! Do you know what your child is doing online? Did you know that if your child has a Facebook account, then they have already done something wrong by lying about their age – you must be over 13. It has been brought to my attention that MANY of our students have Facebook accounts, right down to at least Year 3. Most have easily recognisable photos of themselves online, along with their names. Not very smart! How do I know this? Because some parents drew the content of several pages to my attention, and I can tell you, that what was being said was quite disgusting. This was written by Year 7 students, but many of those linked in as friends and accessing this information were much younger. Many of us use Facebook as adults, and it’s a great way to keep in touch, but please check what your child is doing, and tell other parents what you see. We all like to trust our children, but it is naïve to think that they don’t need supervision online. What’s more, it would only take one mildly smart criminal to befriend one student and to break into a “friends” circle. Do you really want that person to talk to your child? Do you really want them to have your child’s name and an up to date photo? Think about this, please.

A final reminder that requests about 2010 classes

must be forwarded to the Office (in writing) by Friday.

A reminder of the guidelines for this is following

on the next page.

A reminder that letters re class placement need to be lodged with the Principal by the end of next week. As per previous newsletters, please note arrangements.

þ Written requests need to be submitted to myself or Mr Orphanides with a closing date of 27 November. This will have allowed parents almost 3 weeks in which to put forward their views. Once classes are formed it is much more difficult to make changes, so please don’t assume a change can be made once class lists are published in the last week of Term.

þ Requests need to be accompanied by sound educational arguments.

þ It needs to be understood from the outset that not all requests can be accommodated.

þ It is important NOT to assume that a discussion with your child’s class teacher will ensure that your views are taken into consideration. Placements sometimes change at the last minute after initial teacher recommendations are made, and this can lead to disappointment.

A big thank you from the school to our friends from Life House Church for their very kind donation of $3000. Some of this has paid for some unexpected extra costs in the Lyn McKay playground. The remainder will go towards rubberised surfacing to be installed next year. Thank you Life House friends!

Thanks to our 2010 leadership aspirants for putting such a big effort into their campaigns in recent days. Congratulations to new captains:

Captains: Mathew Avery and Rachel Peters and Vice Captains: Jessica Pendrick and Ben Muller.

Music Captains and House Captains and SRC members are still being voted for. Successful candidates will be announced at this week’s assembly, to be held at 1.50pm on Thursday. Good luck to all candidates.

As I write this, Bray Park Idol is in full swing. The standard of entrants this year has been amazing, and it really demonstrates the high levels of talent we have amongst our students at Bray Park State School. Well done to every student who has participated, whether as a finalist, or as a general competitor.

Some important dates to remember:

Getting Along Day – 9am Thursday in the Hall

Assembly – 1.50pm Thursday – practice for new Captains and announcement of 2010 leaders

Tues 1 Dec – Volunteers Thank you morning tea

Wed 2 Dec - Student of the Month Afternoon Tea 2.30pm

Thu 3 Dec – Best of the Best Assembly

Fri 4 Dec – Yrs 4-7 Swimming Carnival

Mon 7 Dec – Yr 7’s visit High Schools; Graduation Night 5.30 – 6.30pm; Graduation Dance 7-9.00pm

Tue 8 Dec – Christmas Around the World and Salvation Army donation morning

Wed 9 Dec – Staff Farewell Assembly 9am

Thu 10 Dec – Class break-up; Yr 7s to pool

Fri 11 Dec – Last day of school year; clean-up day

Don’t forget our very special Best of the Best Celebrations next Wednesday at1.30pm. All parents and community members are encouraged to come along to this event, where the focus is very much on celebrating and acknowledging the best achievements for 2009.

Have a lovely week.

Message from Bas: All learning Environments – Follow rules

A thought to ponder: If ants are such busy workers, how come they find time to go to all the picnics? - Marie Dressler

Anne Mauger

Principal

Sport: Are you going to the Yrs 4-7 Swimming Carnival?????

D o n ‘ t   m I s s   o u t

Payments close at 9am on Thursday 26 Nov.

No late payments will be accepted!

Thanks

Mr Waugh

Tuckshop:

As we are now in the last few weeks of school we will be winding down some of our stock therefore you may need to have a second choice in mind. Fresh made sandwiches will still all be available. The last open day for Tuckshop for 2009 will be Wednesday 9 December.

Wed 25 Nov    Group 13   Belinda P

Thu 26 Nov     Group 14  Lynda M, Sandra H

Fri   27 Nov     Group 15  Lynda M, Sandra H

Mon 30 Nov     Group 16   Daniella

Tue   1 Dec    Group 17 Danielle L

Thanks

Joy and Kym

Bookshop:   PLEASE READ THIS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION ………

Any pre-ordered and pre-paid Uniform and Booklist orders will be sent home with students either on Tuesday 24 or Wednesday 25 November 2009. Prep and pre-ordered but unpaid Uniform and Booklist orders will be available for payment and collection as of Thursday 26 Nov from 2.30pm

Uniform and Booklist orders will still be accepted. If you are looking to put your order in through the Bookshop please do so ASAP so I can ensure I have the stock available by the start back to school 2010. Any orders placed before and over the next week, due to the current stock level should be completely filled and ready for collection with the other orders next week.

Payment Options – Cash, cheque (made payable to Bray Park State School Bookshop), EFTPOS and Credit Card in store only during business hours.

Just a reminder of the Bookshop hours:

This week:

Thur 26 2.30 – 5.30pm

Fri 27    7.30 – 10.30am

Extended Bookshop hours:

Last 2 weeks school (30 Nov – 11 Dec 09)

Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 7.30 – 10.30am

Monday & Thursday 2.30 – 5.30pm

Week before school resumes (Thursday 21 and Friday 22 January 2010)

Open 6.30 – 11.00am (closed 11.00 – 1.00pm)

Open 1.00 – 5.00pm

First week back to school 2010 (Wednesday 27 January through to Friday 29 January 2010)

Open 6.30 – 11.00am (closed 11.00 – 1.00pm)

Open 1.00 – 5.00pm

Thanks,   Cindy

Phone 3480 7345

Chappy Chat:   As we wind up towards the end of the year, I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone in the school community for your support this year. It's been fantastic

Don't forget to send those Chaplaincy consent forms in. It will make my job much easier in the coming year. The form can be downloaded from the school website.

Chappy Award winners for the last 2 weeks were: Nick Clay, Andrew Graham, Taylor Douglas, Rachel Kelly and Daniel Smith

Mr G - School Chaplain

PARENT INFORMATION SESSION

Promoting self protection and supporting healthy sexual development in children from Prep to adolescence.

This is a free parent and carer information session by Family Planning Queensland to support young children’s healthy development and assists with providing positive responses to children’s curiosity, questions and behaviours.

When: Wednesday 25 November 2009-11-24 Where: The Hall at Lawnton State School

Time:     1.30 – 3.00pm

Please call the school office, 3481 4888, to confirm your attendance or if you have any questions.

WANTED Junior Rugby Union Players (girls and boys). The Pine Rivers Pumas is seeking 5 – 19 year olds to play Rugby Union in the 2010 Season.

The PUMA Pathway provides:

Under 5 Development (an introduction to rugby)

U6 and U7’s (Walla – its NOT Tackle, rather its TAG

U8 and 9 (Mini - an introduction to tackle

U10 - U11 (Midi- full length field and modified game)

U12 – U19 (full Under 19 rules with some exceptions)

Pine Rivers Pumas are located at Les Hughes Sports Complex at Bray Park.

Please contact Jason on 0438910552 for further details or visit www.pumasrugby.com

Our 2009 Year Book is at the printer being printed. It is expected to be at our school ready for sale in the next couple of weeks. We have managed to keep the cost of the Year Book at $15.00, the same as last year.

It is a great keepsake for students to have as a reflection of their 2009 school year. Year books can be pre-ordered by filling in the form below and handing into the money window.

We also have some copies of the 2007 Year Book still available. As a special deal, you can purchase a copy of this year’s and the 2007 Year Book for $20.00.

Thank you for your support

Tracey Williams

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Year Book Order Form

Name:……………………………………………..   Class: ………………..

Copies

Required: ……………             Amount Enclosed: ……………………..

(2009 copy)                                       ($15.00 per copy)

2007/2009 Deal: ………            Amount Enclosed: …………….

           ($20.00)