2023 Edition 1 - 27-1-23

Principal's Message - Mrs Meyrick

Thank you to all of our families, students and staff for making our first week at Ripley Central State School an amazing one. Together we have created history this week!

At our school this week, students have began unpacking a shared understanding of what it means to be EPIC Learners. We are Empowered. We are Polite. We are Inclusive. We are Careful. We certainly have seen growth in all of our values as the week unfolded. We will continue to develop an understanding together and then will move into having a focus value that our whole school community learns together.

I have loved talking with families between 8.20am and 8.40am while I am out on duty, and again at 2.20pm when I open the gates for you. If you have any questions, this is a perfect time to catch up.

You can watch a short video (below) with some of our students and families talking about our first week at school.  

I look forward to the weeks that come ahead of us.

Mrs Wuanita Meyrick | Foundation Principal

Deputy Principal's Message - Ms Yager

Welcome

I am thrilled to welcome our students, parents, carers and wider school community, as we commence our adventure to become EPIC learners together. Starting school is a significant event in the life of children and their families; yet together, we started a whole new school from Prep to Year 6.

I have had the privilege this week to get to know your students and observe them grow in confidence each day, as they start to build relationships with their peers and teachers.

This week, students have been learning about what is means to be an EPIC learner at Ripley Central State School. They have been leaning how to collaborate with their peers, how to be inclusive in the playground and how to develop respectful friendships.

I am excited to let you know that I will be the Deputy Principal for the following classes:

• Prep/1A
• 3A
• 5/6A

Whilst your child’s classroom teacher should always be your first point of contact for enquires and concerns, you can contact me by emailing DP@ripleycentralss.eq.edu.au.

Esports Club

We are looking at forming our Esports team for Term 1!

Each term we will have a different competition and therefore we will have opportunities for different students to join the team. This term our Esports game/competition is ‘Just Dance!’

We are looking for 8 passionate students in Year 5 and 6, who LOVE Just Dance, to join our team at one of the below competitions (we will have 2 teams – 1 teams will enter the live competition and the other team will enter the online competition):

• Online Competition - Just Dance 2023 – Fuse Cup Global Schools Competition on the 1^st March 2023.
• Live in person competition – Just Dance 2023 – Fuse Cup Brisbane Schools Competition on the 23^rd February held at Ormiston College, QLD

What is involved?

• Your child will need to commit to weekly 1^st break training up until the competition.
• Your child must have media permission to complete in either of these events.
• Your child will need to commit to competing in an all-day event held at our school via MS Teams on the 1^st on March in full school sports uniform or commit to competing in person at the Brisbane Fuse Cup held at Ormiston College in QLD on the 23^rd
• You will need to pay for your child’s SRS fees and an Esports fee (TBA) to cover the cost of competition registration.

If your child is interested in joining the Esports team, please send an email to Mrs Yager at DP@ripleycentralss.eq.edu.au

Ms Petra Yager | Foundation Deputy Principal

Deputy Principal's Message - Ms Swadling

It has been an excellent start to our school year with lots of smiling faces and our new students who are discovering how to be EPIC learners.  I am the Deputy for Prep A, Prep B, 2A and 4A, as well as overseeing our Support Team and HPE. This first week in all of our classes, has been about getting to know each other and establishing some of our routines.  Some of the comments about our school during lunch time chats has been lovely to hear and some students even saying "They wanted to live here" 🙂. 

Each day we offer Munch and Crunch that needs to be fruit or vegetables (non-messy) and in a separate container to their lunch box as this makes it easy to access while they are working. All other foods will be kept for eating times. 

Thanks to all the families that purchased fridge friendly lunch boxes, this has made it easier to fit all of them in the fridge. We are wroking through the best ways to use our classroom fridges and will communicate with students and families next week (especially about second break). 

Whilst your child’s classroom teacher should always be your first point of contact for enquires and concerns, you can contact me by emailing DP@ripleycentralss.eq.edu.au

Ms Fiona Swadling | Foundation Deputy Principal

Business Manager's Message - Mrs Van Der Zee

Student Resource Scheme (SRS)

SRS payments are due by this Friday. Thank you to all of the families who have already made full or part payment. If you are paying in instalments, $80 is due by the end of the week. You can visit the office before 12 noon each day next week to make EFT payment or pay with exact cash (we do not have change facilities).

Mrs Danielle Van Der Zee | Foundation Business Manager

School start and finish times

Our school day commences at 8.45am and concludes at 2.45pm.

We provide supervision from 8.20am-8.40am in our Bee Eater Breezeway and then open the corridor for students and families to walk to class at 8.40am. This is a quick drop off time, only 5 minutes until class starts. We have allowed this to take a little longer this week as students and families become more familiar with our staff and processes, however from next week, we do need to request that this is completed faster so we can commence our learning on time. 

In the afternoons, we open the gates at 2.20pm for those who would like to sit or stand in the shade. Our classroom corridor opens at 2.40pm. Students finish their day at 2.45pm. Our afternoon duty finishes at 3pm, so please ensure your child has been collected by this time.

Thank you to families who have all navigated these new times and processes with us this week. Your support has been very much appreciated. 

Late Arrivals and Early Departures

If your child is late to school and we have closed the gates, please have them enter the front main doors to administration. They can see our staff at the counter and then we will buzz the access door for them to head to class. Prep students will be supported to class. 
If you are required to pick up your child early from school, please visit the administration and our staff will contact the classroom to have your child sent to the office. We will sign them out and they will be ready to go. Early departures should only be for appointments (that cannot be made outside of school hours) or for family emergencies. We may also need to contact you if your child is unwell or injured. Please just come to the administration the same as an early departure. 
Thank you to families who are learning these processes and supporting our staff to implement them. 

Parking and access

Please ensure that you park legally and are aware of areas/streets that have time restrictions in place. These limitations are for safety and for truck/bus access so are necessary for the safety of our students. We thank the traffic management plans that are in place to support you as we navigate busy streets. Our Stop-Drop-Go facility and large carpark will be finished later in the year. 

FISAF - Federation of International Sports Aerobics and Fitness

What is FISAF? 

FISAF stands for the Federation of International Sports Aerobics and Fitness. It is a blend of sport, strength, fitness and dance! FISAF is for both girls and boys! You can check out the 2022 School National Title Highlight Reel - https://youtu.be/_R0CGcvngJM  

Can my child participate in 2023?

Our school will be running a FISAF Dance Crew for students in Prep and Year 1 in 2023. Students do not need to have any dance experience. Our recruitment is now full and Ms Yager will be in touch with families about our first training session, costs and permission forms. 

What am I committing to if my child is in the FISAF crew?

Students will need to commit to training after school for an hour each week. Competitions throughout the year are on a Saturday and parents will need to commit to transporting their child to each competition. Competition dates include: 

• State Series - 10^th June
• State Championships - 15^th July
• National Championships - 9^th September for qualifying teams only.

Are there any costs involved?

Parents will need to purchase white shoes and socks. Girls will also need to have their own stockings. There will be a FISAF  fee that will cover the FISAF uniform for the year and competition registration fees. It is approximately $100, with the price confirmed in the letter next week. 

Uniforms

Our standard of excellence has been visible this week with our students in their full uniforms. A reminder that formal uniforms are worn on Monday for Year 1 - 6 only. This is the only day that formal uniforms are worn, unless we host a special event or celebration requiring us to be more formal in our appearance. Thank you to families for upholding our expectations in uniforms. We have had many comments from the wider community about our uniforms design, colours and appearance of our students. 

OSHC - Outside of School Hours Care

We are excited to have commenced our partnership with Camp Australia, our new OSHC provider. Registrations and bookings ARE OPEN. Download the Camp Australia Parent Portal from the App Store or Google Play to access. You can also do via Camp Australia website www.campaustralia.com.au 

Any difficulties registering or booking, contact Camp Australia on 1300 105 343 between 5am - 9pm, 7 days per week. 

Camp Australia encourages every family to register, and then just those families who require planned bookings to go to the next step of booking. In the event of an emergency or casual booking next year, your child will need to be registered. By registering now, you are prepared for the unexpected next year. 

Licencing provision does have an enrolment limit, so do not delay, register and book as a matter of urgency. 

Our partnership with Camp Australia will be a long and positive one, with them now having an agreement with us for nine years. They are excited to be an extension of our school day, teach and uphold our school values and expectations and work with us to provide opportunities for our EPIC Learners. We welcome them as an integral part of our Ripley Central State School team. 

Community News - Raceview Soccer Club

Raceview Soccer Club has its 2023 season sign on Saturday 28 January 10.00 am – 1.00 pm and Wednesday evening 1 February 5.30 pm- 7.30 pm at Raceview Congregational church hall 117 Wildey Street Raceview. We will be fielding teams in juniors from under 6 through to under 18’s. Our senior teams include senior men’s and women’s teams and the popular over 30’s and over 40's men’s teams. Registration for teams is open to boys and girls across these ages. Mixed teams are open to boys and girls from U6 to U14’s Age Groups are taken on the player’s age as at 31 December 2022.

More details phone 3288 9809 or www.raceviewsoccer.org.au

How to contact us and how we contact you

Our school phoneline for outgoing calls will come up on your phone as No caller ID, or Private number. We are unable to change this at this point as our phone lines are being diverted until telstra connection occurs for our standard landline. You can call us on 0499 818 125 of if you need to contact us.

Email – admin@ripleycentralss.eq.edu.au  OR for all enrolment matters please email enrolments@ripleycentralss.eq.edu.au 

Phone - 0499 818 125 (between 8.20am-3.15pm Monday to Friday - or school days)