2024 Edition 38 18.10.2024

Principal's Message - Mrs Meyrick

This fortnight we have continued to welcome many new families to our school community and also prepare to welcome all of our new enrolments next year. It has been wonderful for these children to be welcomed into their classrooms and school by our students and staff.  We are EPIC Learners!

The Department of Education has commenced a media and social media campaign about respecting school staff. They reference, there is no excuse for abuse in schools. Each school has a Parent and Community Code of Conduct that is agreed to on enrolment at our school. Thank you to our wonderful parents who already interact with members of our staff in a respectful way, both in person, online and via social media. 

There is no excuse for abuse. This means there is no excuse for abuse even if you are angry or upset. There is no excuse for abuse if you feel an email has not been replied to in a timely manner. There is no excuse for abuse if your child did not pass or if our staff contact you regarding your child's behaviour. There is no excuse for abuse when our staff are not working and are out in our community and are not able to provide you with detailed information about your child. There is no excuse for abuse on social media whether directed at staff or written about them. 

You can learn more about our Parent and Community Code of Conduct on the link below. Together we can model what an EPIC Learner looks like when they are Empowered, Polite, Inclusive and Careful. 

Mrs Wuanita Meyrick| Principal and P-2 Deputy Principal 

Deputy Principal's Message - Ms Yager

 With only 8 weeks remaining for our 2024 Year 6 students, we are excited about their next steps as they prepare to transition to high school! To celebrate their time at Ripley Central, we are thrilled to announce that the Year 6 Graduation Dinner will be held at Brothers Leagues Club. Families are invited to join us for this special event, and we encourage you to secure your tickets early by following the below link.

In other news, some of our 2024 clubs are wrapping up for the year, and we are already preparing for the 2025 auditions! Whether your child is interested in music, dance, esports or one of our other exciting groups, there are plenty of opportunities on the horizon. Be sure to check out the upcoming auditions in this newsletter.

Ms Petra Yager |  Deputy Principal Year 3-6

HOD Curriculum - Mrs Ward

Passion Projects

At our school, we are always seeking ways to empower our students as EPIC Learners. Our Passion Projects align with our school motto, and allow our students to delve into areas of interest that inspire their curiosity and creativity each term.

Passion Projects invite students to:

• Explore something new they are curious about,
• Extend their knowledge on a topic they are passionate about,
• Innovate or design something original.

We want students to have time to pursue athletics, music, hobbies, and community involvement, all while enjoying their childhood. Passion Projects give students the flexibility to choose their learning path outside the classroom. They can document their learning journey in a way that feels natural to them—whether through writing, art, technology, or another creative outlet—and present their project to their peers at our Passion Project Fair.

How You Can Support Your Child’s Passion Project:

• Offer them the gift of time: Listen to their questions, offer clarity, and help them when needed.
• Check in: Discuss their project ideas and support them in gathering any necessary materials, encouraging the use of recycled items.
• Reach out: If your child is stuck or confused, don’t hesitate to ask their teacher for advice.

Passion Projects allow students to think freely and create without restrictions. They can choose to extend their classroom learning or explore entirely new interests. While technology can be part of their project presentation, it isn’t mandatory. Most importantly, Passion Projects are not a form of assessment—they are about exploration, creativity, and joy in learning.

Our last Passion Project Fair for the year will be held on Thursday the 5^th of December. We look forward to seeing the incredible ideas our learners will bring to life!

Tammy Ward | HOD Curriculum

HPE News

2025 Student Leaders

As our school is rapidly growing, we elect our student leaders at the start of each year. Early next year, students on year 4-6 have the opportunity to apply for House Captains, Vice Captains and School Captains (with some roles specific to year levels). 

Students wishing to apply should be demonstrating our EPIC Values and Expectations and the EPIC Routines that support them.

2025 Class requests and considerations

Parents and carers are invited to email any requests for considerations for class arrangements and structures for 2025.

These requests may include the type of teacher you feel your child would shine with, friendship groups that help your child's learning and friendship groups that may disrupt learning. 

These requests will be considered, however may not always be possible. 

Please email dp@ripleycentralss.eq.edu.au

2025 Classes

As our school processes a large number of enrolments at the end of the year and start of the year ready for 2025, we are unable to announce classes until just before school returns. We look forward to welcoming you to our Meet the Teacher open classrooms on Friday 24th January from 1.30-2.15pm. this is a designated time to visit our school, look at class lists and walk to classes to drop off books and say hi to your child's new teacher. 

In years to come, when we are managing normal enrolment growth, we look forward to offering alternative plans in the last week of school prior to the children going on holidays. Until then, we look forward to supporting you on the day prior to school commencing. 

Uniform Reminder - Current Prep Families

As our prep students start their final term, a reminder to prep families that your child will need a formal uniform for next year. Year 1-6 students wear their formal uniforms on Mondays. Our onsite uniform shop is open on Mondays 7.30am-9.30am and then again on Wednesdays 2.30pm-5.30pm. Get in early to avoid the back to school rush. 

We offer an onsite, retail store, near our administration building. You can also purchase online. 

Online ordering password has been emailed home to all prep families. Please contact administration if you are unable to locate the code.

Second Hand Uniforms

As children grow, or families move from the area, families have the opportunity to sell their second-hand uniforms via a Facebook page created by our P&C. You can join via Facebook on the below link.

  You are also welcome to donate any uniform items to our school and we support families who are in need.

Instrumental Music Program – Expressions of Interest Now Open!

We are excited to announce that expressions of interest are now open for our 2025 Instrumental Music Program for students in Years 2-5 (Strings Ensemble) and Years 3-5 (Band) this year. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to learn how to read and play music, with lessons held once a week during class time.

We are thrilled to welcome back Jenna Park, our talented Strings teacher, who will continue with us into 2025. We also warmly welcome Mr. Caleb Hodgkinson, our new Band teacher, who joins the Ripley Central team this term and will remain with us next year as well.

For an EOI form, please see our administration team or email dp@ripleycentralss.eq.edu.au.

Let’s make music together!

FISAF

2025 FISAF Dance Tryouts

Get ready for the 2025 FISAF Dance Tryouts! We invite all interested students currently in Prep or Year 1 to join us on Friday, 1st November at 8:20 am for their chance to be part of our 2025 FISAF Dance Group. For current Year 2 students, tryouts will be held on Friday, 8th November for the 2025 Year 3 FISAF Dance group.

If your child is passionate about dancing and improving their fitness in a fun, supportive team environment, be sure to secure their audition spot by filling out this form: https://forms.office.com/r/rxj7p2CqVL

Our Prep-2 FISAF team proudly represented us this year as our first-ever National Representatives! Let’s aim even higher for 2025!

P&C News

P&C Membership / Volunteering

Looking to connect with your school community? 

Why not join the Ripley Central State School Parents and Citizens Association. The P&C works closely with the principal and school staff on behalf of the student families to foster an interest amongst parents in educational matters as well as fundraising to provide additional resources to the school.

If you don’t have the availability to join the P&C you can contact us to volunteer at our upcoming events. Your participation, no matter how big or small, will help us to achieve the best outcomes for our students. 

So why not come along to one of our P&C monthly meetings or volunteer at an event to make new friends, learn new skills, be informed but most importantly make a difference by adding your voice to change.

Meetings

Our next monthly meeting will take place on Tuesday 22nd October in classroom 6A commencing at 5pm and concluding by 6pm. All families and community members are welcome and new memberships are encouraged. Children are welcome; parents please bring something quiet for them to do during the time. Parking will be available in the Gazania Street carpark.

Stay up to date with P&C messages, celebrations and reminders, by liking our Facebook page by clicking the below link.

If you require any further information about the P&C please contact us at pandc@ripleycentralss.eq.edu.au

We look forward to hearing from you and meeting many more of you throughout the year.

Date Claimers

Week 11 - Supervision only

This term has 11 weeks, meaning the school year has 41 weeks instead of 40. During week 11 of this term (Mon 9^th Dec – Fri 13^th Dec) we will be providing supervision only and families who can make arrangements for their children to commence holidays early are encouraged to do so. The supervision may occur by any member of our teaching staff and may not be with your child’s current class teacher. We understand some families work and will not have access to leave, during the week we will look for ways to supervise students based on their interests. If you have any ideas to share for supervision activities, please let us know. As there is no teaching occurring in week 11, our week 10 calendar will be normal in its arrangements. We will send out date claimers soon. Report cards will also be published in week 10. Soon we will send home a survey for you to advise if your children will be attending in week 11 so we can commence planning arrangements.

Student Departure

If your family is leaving our school, please email admin@ripleycentralss.eq.edu.au with departure date and new destination school. This allows our administration staff to commence processes to support your departure. This includes ensuring books and musical instruments are returned, checking your family’s financial status with the school and also updating your child’s class teacher so they can prepare to send home their books and belongings. While we are sorry to see you go, we also want to help make the process smooth for you.

Reporting Student Absences

Please be reminded that the way to report student absences is 
* by phone 3819 5777 (you can do this before office hours and leave a message).
* via QParents (if you have not yet registered for QParents, please contact administration).
* in person at administration (especially if you know a date in advance). 
Please do not email absence notifications. Our school receives a large volume of emails and your message may be missed as we process absences each morning. 

2025 Enrolments and Prep Koala Joeys

 2025 enrolments are open now. We will only be accepting in-catchment enrolments as we do not have the capacity to cater for children residing outside of our catchment at this time. You can check your address at EdMap.

Parents enrolling their child in a state school for the first time (enrolling in prep, moving interstate or moving from private school) please ensure you have a birth certificate ready to complete your child's enrolment. You can apply for a birth certificate at the below link for Births, deaths, marriages and divorces.

Children aged 5 years by 30^th June 2025 are eligible for Prep in 2025. If your child is eligible for prep next year, please enrol early. This assists us with planning and staffing.

You can also start preparing your proof of residency documents. You will need your rates or tenancy agreement. You will also need a utility bill (eg gas, water or electricity).

Visit our school website below for more enrolment information. 

It is time to start being EPIC! Our Prep 2025 enrolled students are invited to attend our Koala Joeys transition program.

Not enrolled yet? It is time to enrol now. We are working on classes and staffing ready to welcome our new preps next year. Visit our administration or website to complete your enrolment now.

Community News

Year 7 2025 enrolments

All year 6 families should be actively involved in enrolling their child for year 7 in 2025 at high school. Important information sessions, enrolment interviews and tours are all taking place at our local high schools, and you don't want your child to be disadvantaged in their transition. 

Contacting our School

You can call us on 07 3819 5777   if you need to contact us. Please save the number to your mobile so you know if we are calling you. 

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 -  please delete it from your contacts in your phone.