From the Principal...

Term 3 - Week 3

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Sports Day

What a win for Nash House!! After 22 years without their name on the trophy, Nash house were victorious in last week’s Sports Carnival. Dunstan took out the junior trophy. Check out the photos on the school’s Facebook page.

Playground Upgrade

Gympie Central has successfully secured funding to refurbish the senior playground outside the library. During Term 4, the current equipment will be removed and replaced with an entirely new playground, including rubber softfall. This is a great outcome for the students and will give them a new range of equipment to help develop strength and coordination.

Prep 2021 Parent Information Sessions - Wednesday 19 August

Enrolments for Prep 2021 are open. The school will host two parent information sessions next Wednesday. These sessions will give prospective parents an insight into what happens during prep here at Central and information on the Term 4 transition process will be shared.  Two identical sessions will be hosted; the first at 9am and the second at 3:30pm.

School Photos - Orders can still be placed

School photos were taken on Tuesday this week and this year all ordering takes place online. Families still have the chance to order photos by clicking on the link below and using the code for Gympie Central SS (X20GSS).

Online Safety for Students

As technology improves, each year more and more students have access to online platforms and social media. While there are many advantages to technology, ready access to social media also brings its challenges. Parentline Cyberbullying support training has been designed for use by all adults who care for older children and teens at risk of, or already having had experiences with cyberbullying. To view the landing page and access the training resources click on the following link.

This training is FREE and available 24/7 via any internet enabled device.

The Parentline Cyberbullying training will be helpful to parents, carers and grandparents who are:

• Nervous or fearful of using the internet or new devices
• Anxious about their young ones using the internet
• Concerned cyberbullying may be impacting their child
• Concerned their child may be engaging in cyberbullying behaviours
• Would like to learn how to identify when cyberbullying may be impacting their family unit
• Would like supportive, practical information around starting uncomfortable conversations.

UNSW ICAS Assessments

The University of NSW ICAS Assessments are online assessments designed to recognise academic excellence. Students are assessed on their ability to apply classroom learning to new contexts using higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills. This year, Gympie Central is offering students the opportunity to participate in the English and Maths ICAS assessments here at Gympie Central.

Parents who are interested in their child completing an assessment should contact the school by Monday 17 August to register their child. Note that there is a cost of $14.50 per assessment and payments must be made using the Qkr app.

P&C News

The P&C will be holding their annual Father’s Day stall on Monday 31 August. On this day, students can bring up to $10 to purchase a small gift at the stall.

During Term 4, the P&C will be hosting a family photo fundraiser on the weekend of 17-18 October. Local photographer Tracey Deveroux will be here at GCSS taking family photos in a range of locations around the school.

Closer to the date, families will be able to book a time with Tracey by making contact with the P&C.

Gympie Maths Challenge

Two teams of Gympie Central students will be travelling to Gympie High on 8 September in order to compete in the Primary Maths Challenge. This event brings together Year 5 and 6 students from schools across the district where they will have the opportunity to work with their team to solve a range of maths problems. Can you answer some of the challenges below?

• A cube has an edge length of 50cm. A fly lands on the vertex (corner) and walks along the edges. What is the greatest distance the fly could walk before coming back to the starting vertex a second time?
• There are three rectangles in Figure 1 below and nine in Figure 2. How many rectangles are in Figure 3? 

Student Banking

Gympie Central has a small group of students who participate in school banking. The P&C is seeking a volunteer who can facilitate this banking each week- the day and time can be flexible. If you’re interested in this role, please contact the school and we will forward this information to the P&C.

Have a great week!

Hear and Say Hearing Screening

Reminder: Hearing screening is taking place for all prep students, all indigenous students and selected students on Tuesday 18 August. Parents were contacted by Mrs Butler and all consent paperwork should have been returned by now.

Year 6 Camp - Noosa North Shore Retreat - Total Adventures (19-21 August)

Reminder:  Year 6 camp is less than 1 week away. Mr Barnes, Ms Saraber and Ms Bennett will be attending with the students. Due to the facility having to have a COVID Safe plan, guidelines around student health are very tight. Students who present unwell in the 24hrs before camp or during camp will be unable to attend.

Year 5 Camp - Barambah Environmental Education Centre (1-3 Sept)

Reminder: The Year 5 camp to Barambah Environmental Education Centre will take place in Week 8 (1-3 Sept). Students will be supported by Mr Barnes, Mrs Groves and Mrs Wilcox.  Final payment is due by 21 August. 

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