Thursday's Tidings - 27 February 2025
TERM 1 2025 |
|
| Thursday 6 March | Book Fair |
| Friday 7 March | 1/2H & 3/4D Caloundra Excurssion |
| Thursday 13 March | Year 4/5S & 6B Wizard of Oz Musical |
| Friday 14 March | Badge Presentation Ceremony 9am |
| Tuesday 25 March | Nexus Arts Presentation |
| Thursday 27 March | Cross Country 9am-11am |
| Friday 28 March | Prep Vision Screening |
| Thursday 3 April | Celebration of Learning 2:15pm |
| Friday 4 April | Easter Bonnet Parade & Mary St Walk |
| Friday 4 April | Last day of Term 1 |
Term 1 - Week 5
Dear families,
Students are settled into the routines of school by now and our Year 5s have been excellent role models for the new preps. Each day at eating time our Year 5s support the new preps to understand the routines and get ready to transition from eating time to play. They are a big help and deserve recognition.
Next week the four school captains and I will start our visits to Goodstart Early Learning on Duke St. Last year the captains built this partnership by visiting every three weeks in Term 2. This year we’re starting earlier and these visits will run through Terms 1 and 2. During the visits the captains work with the kindy group, helping the Goodstart kids get familiar with primary school age children.
These visits will also expand to Alma St C&K this year; however it’ll be Mrs Roberts visiting to meet parents and their children as they end the day.
Parent Teacher interviews- offered from 10 – 28 March
Parent/teacher interviews are a good opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and check in on how your child has started 2025. Interviews are offered before and after school (depending on the individual teachers). Keep an eye out for the interview booking sheets coming home next week.
Parade is every Friday at 9am- everyone is welcome
Sports captains and Student Council badge presentation ceremony confirmed for Friday 14th March at 9am- Save the date
Student Birthdays
Just a quick reminder that the school P & C have a Birthday Bucket available. This includes an ice block for each student in the class and a small gift for the Birthday student. They just ask for three days' notice to be organised and to give the classroom teacher notification. Order via Qkr app.
Book Fair
Mrs Condon will be hosting Book Fair in the library starting from 6 March and is open just before school 8:15-8:40, middle break 1:15-1:40 and just after school 3:00-3:45. All purchases help put funds back into our school library.
Gympie Central’s 2025 priorities
1. Reading- develop agreed pedagogical practices to inform the teaching of reading
2. Increase engagement so children achieve an attendance rate of 91%
Celebration of Learning- Thursday 3 April @ 2:15pm
This term our classes are hosting a Celebration of Learning. Classrooms will open up for families to come in to see the great work their children have completed. It’ll also be a chance to meet your child’s teacher if you haven’t already.
Regular Attendance Matters- Our target 91%
Under Queensland law, you must make sure your child of school age is enrolled and attends school all day, every school day unless they have a reasonable excuse. Illness, doing work experience, competing in a school sporting event or going on a school excursion are reasonable excuses for being absent from school.
Avoid keeping your child away from school for birthdays, shopping, visiting family and friends, if they sleep in, looking after other children, minor check ups or care such as hair cuts.
Our attendance target is 91% and next week, all families will receive an email with your child’s current attendance rate for 2025. As parents, this information can make us think if we are giving our child/ren the best chance at life.
Representative School Sport – Eligibility and Expectations
Each year, a number of students proudly represent Gympie Central SS in various sports, with some progressing to Gympie District, Wide Bay, and even Queensland teams. To be eligible for selection, students must have strong parental support in maintaining a 90% attendance rate and demonstrating high levels of behaviour and effort across all areas of school life.
Participation in representative sport is a privilege, not a right. Selection letters typically state, “Congratulations, you have been invited to attend…”, reinforcing that previous selection does not guarantee future opportunities. Coaches and officials prioritise respect for officials and a positive attitude when considering players.
We encourage all students to give their best effort, show great sportsmanship, and represent Gympie Central SS with pride. Good luck!
Prep vision screening- Friday 28th March
Qld Health staff will be at school on Fri 28 March to complete vision screening for our prep students. This is our only opportunity for this to take place this year so it’s really important preppies are at school on that Friday. Children require consent to participate and links have been sent out, a QR code is at the prep classroom or paper consent forms are available from the office.
True Relationship and Reproductive Health- Yr 3-6 sessions 19 & 26 March
At school your child is going to be involved in a relationship and sexuality education program run collaboratively with True Relationships & Reproductive Health and the classroom teachers.
The many benefits of relationship and sexuality education include supporting the development of a healthy self-esteem, a positive attitude towards sexuality, information to care for bodies and the development of skills to make healthy decisions.
The best way for children to learn about sexuality is by receiving small amounts of age appropriate, factual information from parents/carers and teachers in a gradual and ongoing process.
True recognises that you are the primary sexuality educator of your child. Parents/Carers and schools can work together to encourage healthy behaviours and attitudes about sexuality & bodies. The following information may be useful to start discussions with your child, so that you have the opportunity to reinforce appropriate behaviours, new skills and discuss your family’s values, attitudes and beliefs about these topics.
In line with the national HPE curriculum True will be delivering sessions in your child's class. The information will include
Year 3
- naming body parts
- public/ private bodies, places & behaviours
- identifying emotions
- what children can do if they feel unsafe
- types of touch
- safety networks.
- Introduction to puberty
Year 4
- naming body parts
- public/ private bodies, places & behaviours
- identifying emotions
- what children can do if they feel unsafe
- types of touch
- safety networks.
- Introduction to puberty
Year 5
- Body parts – names and functions
- Body changes – physical, social and emotional changes of puberty
- Reproduction and pregnancy
- Healthy relationships
- Self-Protection, assertive behaviour and how to ask for help
- Media & body image
- Peer pressure
Year 6
- Body parts – names and functions
- Body changes – physical, social and emotional changes of puberty
- Reproduction and pregnancy
- Healthy relationships
- Decision making
- How to find accurate information on bodies
Each child will receive a leaflet outlining the information that they learned in class, allowing families to continue conversations at home.
If you have any concerns about your child participating in the programme you can contact the school on 54802111.
If you would like further information on communicating with your child about sexuality or about these sessions, please contact True on 07 5479 0755 or hayley.rowe@true.org.au
Kind regards,
QParents
QParents has launched at Gympie Central SS!
It’s great to see that so many parents have registered for QParents already. If you have not received an invitation, please advise us immediately.
Gympie Central will be starting to use QParents as a means of gaining digital consent for excursions and camps later this term to reduce the amount of paper notes that are sent home. You will need to be registered for QParents to enable your digital consent access.
If you need assistance with the registration process, please click on the link below or contact the office on 5480 2111 for support.
QParents Registration Guide for Parents
2025 Voluntary Financial Contribution - $20 per student
Each year, the Gympie Central State School P & C Association endorse a voluntary financial contribution of $20 per student, which equates to $0.50 per week for the entire school year. This money is a vital part of Gympie Central P&C’s commitment and helps to fund reading books, classroom resources, photocopying paper and tissues. This year the payment can be made via the Qkr! app or in person at the office. Your support in paying the voluntary contribution is greatly appreciated.
Payment Options
We have a variety of payment options available here at Gympie Central. Our most preferred method of payment is the Qkr! app. Qkr! is a cashless payment app, which means you can make payments on your mobile phone, rather coming into the school. The Gympie Central P&C also use this app, so not only can you pay for camps and excursions, but you can also order school uniforms and tuckshop with the app.
Instructions on how to download and use the app are shown in the link below.
Other payment options that we provide are:
1. BPOINT - (for invoiced activities) Pay online or by phone using credit/debit card: https://www.bpoint.com.au/payments/dete or phone 1300 631 073
2. CENTREPAY - (for invoiced activities) We now offer Centrepay as a payment method for instrumental music and school camps. Use Centrepay to arrange regular deductions from your Centrelink payment. You can start, change or stop using Centrepay whenever you like. If you would like to set up a Centrepay payment, or know more information about this payment method, please contact the school office.
3. EFTPOS - We accept Mastercard, Visa and all Australian bank, building society and credit union cards.
4. CASH - Cash payments are still accepted. However, the school no longer has the ability to give out change, so only cash payments of the correct denomination will be accepted.
Student Absence Notification System
If your child is absent from school without explanation you will receive a SMS text message that morning to your mobile phone asking to explain their absence. Please reply (on the same day) with a simple SMS answer eg sick; specialist appointment. Alternatively, you can call and leave a message on the Student Absence HOTLINE - Telephone 5480 2166 to report your child’s absence.
Please contact the office by phone if you have any concerns regarding the message you have received.
Noosa Heads Surf Education Program
We’re excited to announce that Noosa Heads Surf Education Program is expanding its services into the Gympie region!
See attached package for more details on our program. Spots are filling quickly—secure your preferred session now!
