2023 Edition 5 - 24-3-23

Principal's Message - Mrs Meyrick

Next week is the last week of what has been an EPIC term! School holidays commence at 2.45pm on Friday and then we return to school on Monday 17^th April. We still have a productive week planned. On Monday we hold our special assembly to induct our new School Captains, School Vice Captains and our House Captains. We hope their parents can join us for this special occasion. Congratulations to our students who have been voted by their Year 2-6 peers to represent our school.

On Monday, our classes will also visit the upstairs of our Bee Eater building (above administration), the new classroom areas where we will set up our Instrumental Music, Music/Dance/Drama/Media Arts, AUSLAN, Health and also our 3A, 4A and 5/6A classes.

On Tuesday 3A, 4A and 5/6A will move up to those new rooms and finish the term in their new rooms. Downstairs where they move out of we will be making an inside lunch time option (books, board games, puzzles) and also a temporary Visual Arts classroom. On Wednesday morning (at 8.40am), parents are welcome to join me on a tour of upstairs when we open the corridor at 8.40am.

On Thursday we host our Passion Project Fair (2pm) and on Friday we hold our Easter Hat Parade (2pm). We hope to see you at these two events. This is an exciting way for us to finish the term.

I thank all of our families, students, staff and P&C for a wonderful start to our foundation year. I look forward to seeing you all on the 17^th April ready for term 2.

Mrs Wuanita Meyrick | Foundation Principal

Deputy Principal's Message - Ms Yager

Breakfast Club

Our Breakfast Club has been a real hit with the students of Ripley Central. Unfortunately, we cannot continue to run the club 5 days a week unless we can gain more volunteers. As of Monday 27^th March, Breakfast Club will run on Monday – Wednesday only before school in the Bee Eater Breezeway.

Instrumental Music

Our Instrumental Program has grown and we have limited places left available for students interested in learning an instrument this year. If your child is in Years 3, 4 or 5 and would love to learn more about our instrumental program, we have the following instruments available to hire:

Year 3 and 4 only

• Violin
• Viola

Year 4 and 5 only

• Trombone
• Tenor Saxophone
• Trumpet
• Clarinet
• Flute
• Euphonium
• Bass Clarinet
• Percussion

To express your interest, please email dp@ripleycentralss.eq.edu.au

Ms Petra Yager | Foundation Deputy Principal

Deputy Principal's Message - Ms Swadling

TALKING ABOUT SCHOOL: WHY CHILDREN SOMETIMES FIND IT HARD  

(according to raisingchildren.net.au) 

“‘How was school?’ is a big question. To answer, your child has to sum up a whole day, and that’s hard for children (and even adults!) to do. 

A child might really want to say, ‘My day was so jam-packed with ideas and classes and social stuff that I don’t know where to start’. So it’s easier just to say, ‘OK’.” 

STRATEGIES FOR TALKING ABOUT THEIR DAY WITH YOUR CHILD 

Every day at school is about learning and not just academically, all children of all ages are learning social interactions, emotional regulation, behaviour expectations, school values and what they look like at our school.  Every student comes from a family with different backgrounds, values, and beliefs and let’s be honest, all of us as parents are doing our best to love and support our children as best we know how. 

Sometimes as parents we want to get straight to the point when asking about their day and just get the specifics about;  

Who did they have troubles with?  

Who hurt you today?  

Or, What happened today? …  

And it becomes a negative conversation cycle, and your child will be trying to find incidences that normally wouldn’t have bothered them, but they need to answer the question with something.  

Sometimes (a lot of the time) as parents we get the ‘one sided version of events’ that doesn’t explain the big picture of what happened or definitely doesn’t tell what they did also in the scenario. Of course we want to know the serious stuff and most of the time that will be the first thing they want to share anyway which is great to debrief at home as well, we always encourage this. But, we also want to know the positives.  

One of the dinner conversations that was had with my family and children growing up about their day, (to be honest they laugh at me when I do this now as adults as well) was, 

“What were two good things that happened to you today, and one thing that didn’t go so well?”  

This questioning opens up for positive conversations and not just the negative events of the day.  

Other questions to ask, according to ‘Raising Children’, the Australian parenting website, are simple, positive and specific questions about parts of the day to get your child talking. It’s good to use questions that invite more than a ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘OK’ responses. For example: 

• What’s the news from school today? 
• What was fun? 
• What did you like best at school today? 
• What does your classroom look like at the moment? 
• What did you do in class after playtime? 
• Who did you hang out with today? 
• What subjects did you do today? 
• What topics are you working on in science/maths/English at the moment? 

So lets look at rephrasing some of our questions about their day to incorporate the positives if you don't already….I bet there are many! 😊 

Ms Fiona Swadling | Foundation Deputy Principal

Business Manager's Message - Mrs Van Der Zee

QParents

Next term our school will be rolling out the use of QParents for parents to use. 

QParents is a secure, online portal accessible via a free, user-friendly app or web browser created for Queensland state schools by the Department of Education. QParents enables schools to offer parents secure access to information about their child.

QParents can be used to directly communicate with the school and do the following

• View students information and report cards
• Update student details and information
• Submit reasons for absence
• Pay invoices

To register the following process will occur:

1. An email invitation will be sent from the school in the coming weeks
2. Accept the invitation and prove your identity by providing 100 Points if ID (See below)
3. Provide your child's EQ ID (This can be found on previous school invoices or report cards)

If you have any queries or concerns registering for QParents, please do not hesitate to contact the school on 3819 5777.

Student Resource Scheme

Thank you to those families who have already made payment towards their SRS.  The first payment date was due in February.  We are quickly approaching the end of term and would like to have all SRS accounts up to date. Next week, our finance team will be sending home student statements. Please see below for the SRS payment due dates. If you require assistance with payments, please don’t hesitate to contact me on bsm@ripleycentralss.com.au

SRS Due Dates

Week 2, Term 1- $80

Week 2, Term 2- $50

Week 2, Term 3- $50 

Mrs Danielle Van Der Zee | Foundation Business Manager

Passion Project Fair

Our first Passion Project Fair will be held on Thursday commencing at 2pm. Parents and carers are invited to visit their child's classrooms. Students who have completed (or are sharing progress) can bring their Passion Project to school on Thursday, or any day next week. We will have them all on display to share with our classes, staff and parent visitors. As visiting parents, please enjoy our student's progress or final product. You can ask them questions and share their excitement. Students will remain under the supervision of their teacher for the Passion Project Fair, and if possible, may visit other classrooms to see other student's projects too. We hope you can join us!

Car parking and traffic management

Please be advised that changes will occur next term regarding traffic management and parking. 

The lease of land across the road for our green space and temporary staff car park will come to an end. As the reason for the department engaging the traffic management was to support our transition across the road at lunch breaks and for HPE this will no longer be required. This will mean that access to and from the car park will no longer be monitored and supported and parents and carers will need to access this on their own with no direction. Please keep in mind that when the car park is full there is a turning park bay right at the end. Please show patience and politeness as you navigate this area and follow all road rules. 

Staff parking will become street parking, except for a small few who will require to use the carpark (cleaners and OSHC due to their rostered hours and safe access). All other staff will move to street parking which will in turn also create more congestion in our local street network. As building and development then commence across the road from us, additional traffic will be on the streets.

This won't be forever and together as a community we need to model our EPIC values (especially Polite). Coming later in the year we have our large carpark, staff carpark, bus drop off and drop and go. We have much to look forward to as our school grows. 

Now is the time to consider your alternative routes, where you could park and take the rest of the trip as an active traveller (bike, scooter or walk). Families may also consider OSHC Camp Australia to avoid peak times. 

Please remember our staff are not traffic enforcement officers and will not provide support or follow up regarding parent driving conduct. If you have concerns about a particular driver, please report to council/police as needed. 

Thank you in advance for your patience as we navigate this together.

Holidays

The last day of term one is Friday 31st March. We return to school on Monday 17th April. During this time our school office will be closed and we do not have staff rostered to respond to any inquires. There will be scheduled posts that publish on our Facebook page during this time, however this is pre-arranged before we go on leave. We hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday period and we look forward to seeing you from 8.20am on Monday 17th April. 

Student Toilets

Please be advised our student toilets are for student use, and are not considered a public toilet facility. The only people able to enter or use these toilets are our students. Staff at times may need to provide support, however do not use these toilets themselves. Our student toilets are not for adult or visitor use. 

If while on site for pick up or drop off you have a younger sibling that requires the bathroom, please visit the administration to use the toilet located at our First Aid rooms. As this toilet is used by children who are unwell, it is best only used as an emergent situation if your child cannot wait until they return home. 

P&C News

Thank you to our families for your overwhelming support for donations towards our FREE Easter Raffle. We will draw the raffle (with every child receiving a tick entry) at the Easter Hat Parade on 31st March .

Our next P&C Meeting is on Tuesday 28^th March commencing at 5pm and concluding by 6pm. All existing and new members are welcome.

Book Club

Get ready for Book Club by setting up your online account!

Community News

Bremer Expo

Visit "Bremer Expo"  on Wednesday 17th May from 4:00pm to discover all that our school has to offer, including our outstanding excellence programs! At the Bremer Expo, you will get the opportunity to explore our campus, meet our teachers and staff, and learn about our commitment to academic excellence and student success.

Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to see firsthand what makes Bremer State High School one of the best schools in the area.

Register now 

https;//bit.ly/BremerExpoRegistration and we look forward to seeing you at the Bremer Expo.

Queerswich

Playgroups in Ipswich

Contacting our School

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 07 3819 5777  phof 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 - 07 3819 5777  (between 8.20am-3.15pm Monday to Friday - or school days) 

Please no longer use the mobile number that we used to use.