Thursday's Tidings - 25 January 2023
TERM 1 2023 |
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| Thursday 26 January | Australia Day Public Holiday |
| Tuesday 31 January | P&C Meeting at 5pm |
| Tuesday 14 February | Parent Information Sessions |
| Monday 6 - Friday 24 March | Parent/Teacher Interviews |
| Friday 10 March | Badge Presentation Parade |
| Tuesday 14 March | P&C Meeting at 5pm |
| Wednesday 15 - Monday 27 March | NAPLAN |
| Wednesday 22 - Friday 24 March | Year 5/6 Camp |
| Friday 31 March | Easter Bonnet Parade |
| Friday 31 March | Mary St Walk |
| Friday 31 March | Final day of Term 1 |
Term 1 - Week 1
Dear Central families,
What a great start to 2023 here at Gympie Central! Welcome to all our new and returning families who have had their child start their schooling journey here or have moved to Gympie Central. You will find our experienced staff professional and welcoming. Our small school has a big heart and word is getting out - the school has grown by 10% from this time 12 months ago.
Our preps are settling in well with their routines these first few days and they will spend the first term learning about the routines and learning to work together, inside and outside the classrooms. Our new students in the other year levels have started making connections with the Central students and are learning to find their way around the grounds.
Those who have visited the school will have seen the significant construction taking place in the centre of the school. While there is disruption at present, the new steps and pathways will improve safety and accessibility around the school.
Welcome New Staff
There are some new faces among the staff here at Central.
Mr Brady Rutland has joined us as Head of Department - Curriculum. Mr Rutland works across Gympie Central and Gympie West, and will be here every Tuesday and Thursday (Mrs Hooklyn has moved to Gympie East in a full-time role in 2023).
Miss Sharon Valamis has joined the team as our Arts Teacher. She’ll be at Central each Monday, so has already met the students and had a great day this week.
Mrs Anita Dakin will work in a teacher aide role across multiple classrooms. Mrs Dakin has joined us from Monkland and has already made some great connections with staff and students.
Mrs Bec Child will continue working across the grounds while Mr Burke has extended his leave. She’s easy to spot in her pink work shirts and does an amazing job around the grounds. Give her a shout out when you see her on these hot days - she’s getting plenty of extra steps in thanks to all the temporary fencing in the centre of the school.
Mrs Groves has moved back into the classroom as 5/6B teacher on Mondays. Mr Barnes will still teach 5/6B on Tuesdays through to Fridays. We’ll still see Mrs Groves in her role supporting students with additional needs each Tuesday to Thursday.
Priorities in 2023 - Targeted student feedback and School Community Partnerships
Gympie Central is continuing its focus on providing students effective, targeted feedback. We do this by helping students understand the assessment task requirements, then checking in on their progress work during the term and providing specific feedback to improved particular areas of their work. These successful practices have been in place for the past couple of years and we will continue this journey.
Our staff will continue to consolidate school-community partnerships - whether that be working with local early education service providers, taking part in the ANZAC Day march, visiting local community groups, sharing the great things happening at Central on local/social media or hosting performances on parade (these were a hit last year!).
New School Sign
Those travelling past will have seen the new school sign in place. The last stage is connecting the sign to its power source. Once this is done early this term, this will be another effective way to get messages out to our local community.
Parent Information Sessions - Tuesday 14 February
Parent Information Sessions will be held after school, between 3:15pm and 4:15pm on Tuesday 14 February. Individual class session times will be published in the next newsletter, so be sure to keep your eye out for them.
Remember, we are here to help
Like always, if there is something that you want our support with, or if your child is struggling, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher for support. If it is not a matter for the teacher please call the front office and arrange to meet with a member of the leadership team, so we can work through things together. It takes a village to raise a child, so let’s work together.
Warm regards,
Glenn Cafferky
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.
Crossing Supervisor
Please remember that the yellow lines near the school crossing are there to remind drivers NOT to park over them. When cars park on these yellow lines, it obstructs our Crossing Supervisor's vision of oncoming traffic. Please use the carparks provided and help keep our kids safe!
Hi I am Lizette Phillips, your school's Guidance Officer for 2023.
In a nutshell – I am here to help. As a specialist teacher I contribute to the development of comprehensive student support and wellbeing that is responsive to the needs of the school community.
With parent consent I may work directly with students in addition to working with a student's teacher, school support personnel, family, other specialists or external support providers.
Support offered by guidance officers includes providing advice and counselling on educational, behavioural, vocational, personal, social, family, and mental health and wellbeing issues.
Coming back to school brings up big emotions for kids and parents. One of my favourite resources is the Big Life Journal. They share how to have better conversations with your children at the end of those big days. By showing your child that you value their experiences and are interested in their lives, you strengthen your bond and create a sense of belonging within your family. If you talk about the “little” things, it makes it easier to talk about the “ bigger” things.
See the below image for some ideas to switch the conversation so that when you ask, “ How was your day?” or “What did you do today?” , you might find out a little more than, “ Ok”, or “Nothing.”
Warm regards,
Lizette Phillips
