Charleville School of Distance Education
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Parry Street
Charleville QLD 4470
Subscribe: https://charlevillesde.schoolzineplus.com/subscribe

Email: the.principal@charlevisde.eq.edu.au
Phone: 07 4656 8999
Fax: 07 4656 8900

May

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Ponderings

A long term that is nearly over. A busy term that has led to a school review and the writing of report cards. Report cards will be sent home in the last week of school and you are encouraged to speak with your class teacher at the beginning of term three around the report comments and feedback.

School Review: Congratulations to our staff and school community for the wonderful response to the School Review.

“This is a good school, this is a good report”. Garry Lacey, Lead Reviewer

The three reviewers were very impressed with the welcome, the work that the Home Tutors do and the teaching staff’s and the support staff’s dedication to each student. The report will be shared with the school community and the recommendations will be considered and developed into actions and put in place as part of the Quadrennial School Review and Strategic Plan. The considerations and development of actions will be a collegial process including all staff, Management Committee representatives and our Assistant Regional Director, Andrew Brandon.

SDE Principals’ Meetings: On the 28/29th April the Principals met and the outcomes of the meeting are below:

  • SODEA meetings were very productive – we are all on the same page –the SODEA reps took shared concerns to their meetings and are advocating for our families around the following topics:
     - Infrastructure in some schools – need to fit the SDE purpose – new and replacement needed in some schools
     - Status of laptop hire scheme – briefing paper forthcoming
     - Technical issues – collaborate, identity management, NBN status and accurate information for families signing up
     - Home Tutor Induction - https://distanceeducation.eq.edu.au/Pages/default.aspx www.elearningbank.net – HT materials website for all resources
     - RREAP – preferences include:
      -  GI families don’t use induction programs for HT in this format.
      -  Induction program is still a priority but not within RREAP guidelines.
      -  HT development programs –need to be interactive, hands on development. Distribution of funds between schools is the preferred option.
      -  Motion – each school to receive Cluster RREAP funding for Home Tutor development programs. Funds to be disbursed as per guidelines. Carried unanimously.
      -  CTSDE to develop HT induction program. SDE Workshop to be conducted to finalise the content and format of the website. (Helen will attend this in early June)
  • Senior schooling (for the 4 P-12 schools) with the change of assessment for year 12 from 2018/19, syllabi are being re written therefore SDE courses need re writing.
  • EBooks: Overdrive - schools can purchase collections and students can borrow from multiple access points. This will be great for families who like access to digital reading materials.
  • C2C: there is a minor tweaking of the units still occurring – delivery is still cutting it fine for us to use some of the 2016 updates.
  • Eteach – other curriculum areas – all writing will finish at the end of term 2. We will look at integrating these subjects in 2017 in a reasonable and timely manner.

Master Teacher: Narelle Webb will be based at our school for three days per week in Semester two. We will be working with her to decide what will best support the Teaching and Learning of our students.

Junior Secondary: The Thargomindah learning Centre has 3 CSDE students and 1 BSDE student attending at the moment. At the meeting on Wednesday 25th May, it was decided that an information night be held in Thargomindah for all parents and a face to face meeting of the committee be held at the same time.

Western Alliance: A very successful Multischool for our secondary students was held at the beginning of term (postponed from first term) in Longreach. Our parents were a wonderful help and ran an excellent kitchen. Staffing has been challenging this year with 7 new teachers to our Alliance schools. They have all risen to the challenge and are smoothly working with our students.

50th Jubilee Update: Please be mindful that Sports Muster will be held on Thursday 11th August commencing at 12.00 midday with lunch for the students and a canteen available for the adults. Friday sports muster will commence at 8.30 am and finish at 3.00pm. This is to allow for families to stay on for the Friday night and Saturday morning Jubilee activities should they wish. Please register using the registration form so that we can ensure we have catering, mementos and arrangements in place to make it a wonderful celebration of our school and its journey.

Thank you: A special thank you to all staff for the smooth running of the year. Students are achieving, resources are flowing, and support is given.

Leave: I will be on Long Service Leave from the 3rd June and out of the country until the end of term. Kate Lofthouse will be acting Principal, Leonie Herwig will be acting Deputy Principal and Leonie’s class will be taught by Caroline Daunis.

Have a wonderful rest of term and a restful break.

Jenny

From the Deputy’s Desk

So here we are already more than half way through term 2! Time just seems to fly when you are having fun and there has certainly been lots of fun to be had lately.

Show Wrap Up

Congratulations to all the students (and parents and teachers) who entered one or more of the local shows that have run throughout the month of May. The following students took the time to send in entries for the School Work Section of the Charleville Show and it looks like they all did rather well. Results as below:

Section: Drawing

Year 2: Jack Brand – First
Year 6: Harry Brand
Declan Salmon
Year 7: Charlotte Brand – First
Nicholas O’Brien – Second
Weston Campbell
Year 8: Renae Hubbard – First
Year 9: Alice Sewell - First

Section: Painting

Year 2: Laura Hoch
Year 4: Ellie Hoch – First
Year 5: Ebony McDonald – First
Year 6: Weston Campbell – Second

Section Collage

Year 6: Scott Stafford – First
Declan Salmon – Second
Akierraleigh Denton - Third

Section: Creative Writing

Year 4: Josh Bredhauer – Second
Year 5: Ebony McDonald – Third

Section: LOTE, SOSE, Science Project

Year 6: Weston Campbell - First

Charleville Show School work
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Charleville Show School work
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NAPLAN

NAPLAN testing was successfully held on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 May. Thanks to all parents and home tutors who supported their students in attending on-air lessons on time and in supervising the students while they sat these tests. The data gathered from NAPLAN testing allows us to analyse areas of student capability and to identify areas requiring additional support. All NAPLAN tests will be returned to QCAA for marking as they are received in the school. Parents can hopefully expect to receive a report on their student’s results in this testing prior to the end of term 3.

CAMP

This year’s camp to Canberra and the Snow has been well received with 29 primary students and 22 secondary students taking up the opportunity to explore Australia’s Capital. Camp parents, Helena Salmon and Justin Schultz will be in attendance for the duration of the camp along with myself, 3 primary teachers, 3 secondary teachers (from across the Western Alliance), Georgia-Lee Coldwell and a handful of parents who have elected to pay to attend. Names of class teachers attending will be advised shortly.

For those students attending camp now is the time to start working on your fitness regime so you are ready to hit the slopes when we get to the snow. Parents you may want to take the gear checklist with you the next time you go away so that you have enough warm gear etc for the snow. Southern Cross (where we stay for the snow) are able to order in goggles, gloves and socks etc if you need them. I would strongly recommend that all students have waterproof gloves and long socks to wear at the snow. A pair of sunglasses is also useful if you elect not to have goggles. (I bought some the last time I went and found that sunnies were actually of more use – the cheap goggles tended to fog up and be annoying).

Here are some Ski Fit Exercises for you to try at home:

Ski Fit Exercises
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Ski Fit Exercises
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Final payment for camp is due Monday 25 July. The school will invoice all attendees shortly.

Cheers Kate

PLO Prattle

The cooler weather has started in the mornings, however the days are lovely.

At the beginning of this term I went to Longreach SODE along with Virginia from the Curriculum room to have meetings with the Principals/PLO’s/Mailroom/Curriculum Staff to discuss the delivery of resources and enrolment procedure for WA students. Whilst in Longreach I was fortunate to spend some time with the WA students after the meetings.

Work has started on KSC 2017. Thanks to all of you who have sent in Feedback and suggestions around sessions that may be held.

What do you do when you are at your wits end with a child who is misbehaving? Here are more tips from Michael Grose with some ideas to help:

Don’t threaten, bribe or do deals!

Getting kids to cooperate is tricky. One method doesn’t necessarily fit all kids so as a parent or teacher it helps to have a broad repertoire of responses to draw on when kids are less than perfect or you want more cooperative behaviour.

Here are three good discipline habits to develop:

  1. Avoid the first impulse so you don’t overreact
    A good rule of thumb is to stop yourself from reacting when children misbehave. As much of children’s poor behaviour is purposeful, in that it keeps parents busy with them or is designed to let parents know that in fact you can make a child do anything they want to do, your impulsive reactions reinforce the behaviour. At times stopping and doing nothing is better than saying something you regret later on or can’t follow through with.
  2. Move toward them to be noticed
    Moving into children’s space to deliver a message is usually more effective than issuing an order across a lounge room when you are competing with a screen for attention. It does require effort but the results in terms of getting cooperation is generally worth it.
  3. Use a consequence to teach
    Not all children respond positively to consequences. Very sensitive children can take consequences personally so use them sparingly with more sensitive. Sometimes a change in the tone of your voice is enough for these children. But generally reasonable consequences that have a relationship to children’s misdemeanours and that are respectfully delivered are effective in teaching children to behave responsively. The trick is to deliver them like a neutral cop – cool, calm and with not too many words.

Have you booked your accommodation for Sports Muster and the 50 th jubilee celebrations, get in early so that you don’t miss out. There will be extra people in town for the 50th.

Cheers
Helen Cook
Parent Liaison Officer

Curriculum Corner

Curriculum Dispatch

There was some delay with the 2016 History units. As a result, these were not completed in time for production. We have opted to use 2015 units for History for the remainder of the year.

C2C reported during a recent meeting that the unit papers would be the same for 2017 as they were in 2016. A review is currently underway by QCAA to consider the revised Australian Curriculum and to consider the ‘core’ curriculum. The review will more than likely lead to a change in the papers but this won’t be seen until at least 2018.

Parents have also questioned whether they need to return HT booklets given that these will be the same for next year. The short answer is no. We will purchase new papers for next year. No unit papers need to be returned back to the school.

C2C Review

2 teachers and a parent recently flew to Brisbane to participate in a review of the secondary C2C units. All those involved said it was a very worthwhile exercise and all parties got a lot out of it. C2C also reported that these days have proven to be a big success, with teachers and parents being a hard working bunch that lead to change in the unit papers.

Curriculum eTeach update

Units for HPE and The Arts have now been written. I will be looking at how to fit these into the unit schedule for next year to replace our current CLC units. No decisions have been made around this yet, but due to the problems we are having with the old units, especially with links etc, we would really like to try some of these new units next year. Current SDEs that are trialling it are doing so with positive feedback.

Planning days

Teachers are participating in planning days this term. During these days, I run professional development sessions to support teachers to review assessment and consider what is essential in units of work. Teachers are also able to work collaboratively with the teachers on the same year level as well. This leads to a reduction and adaptation of the units to suit the particular needs of students. This will occur during NAPLAN days in week 6 and the last day of school this term.

This will continue twice termly (or thereabouts) for the remainder of the year. TRS may be supplied or RRE days utilised.

Thanks
Zoe Farrer
Head of Department – Teaching and Learning

Digital Discoveries

New Web Conferencing Starting Term 3

After a false start with the new system at the beginning of the year, we will now be switching to the new Blackboard Collaborate (Web Conferencing) system starting Term 3. The actual tool itself will not look any different to the current system, it is all about how the session is accessed and opens. Rather than using iConnect, students will select their on-air lesson from within their eLearn course. No passwords will be needed as students will be required to log into their eLearn course to identify who they are.

Below are instructions on how to access the new system:

This new systems DOES NOT use Java and will eliminate the issues of which version various users have on their computers. Instead, the system requires the installation of a launcher for the first time Web Conferencing is used. This can be downloaded before entering the first session or can be obtained from the school on a CD. If using a Mac computer, this is what you have been using already.

eLearn Courses are available here:

https://elearn.eq.edu.au

Charleville SDE’s YouTube Channel

We now have our very own YouTube Channel for sharing videos with the world! Students can have their videos published to the YouTube Channel by sending them to their class teacher or Mrs O. Remember, videos to be published on the YouTube Channel cannot contain any personal information such as your full name, address, phone numbers or email addresses.

Check out the Year 3’s videos by visiting our channel at:

http://tinyurl.com/zo2kvm8

Facebook Group: Better Internet for Rural, Regional and Remote Australia (BIRRR)

Interested in finding out what is happening with the NBN and the Education Port? Check out the Facebook Group BIRRR for lots of information, helpful links and shared stories of what has worked for other families and be able to ask questions of those who have been there and done that. Visit them at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/BIRRR/

https://birrraus.com/satellite/long-term-sat-ltss/

iPad App of the Month: ReachOut Orb

ReachOut Orb is an innovative and engaging game for adults both young and ‘more experienced’ aimed at improving wellbeing and mental fitness. The game takes place in a virtual world where a negative force known as ‘The Glitch’ has drained colour from the world and caused people and machines to behave oddly. You interact with a range of characters in an attempt to return colour and positivity to the world, learning from the choice you make along the way. A great way to boost positive emotions, develop and sustain positive relationships and develop resilience.

Disclaimer: This app is not meant to replace clinical care. If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties with mental health, talk to a healthcare professional.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/reachout-orb/id964328080?mt=8

Student Work Celebrations:

The Year 8 ICT class have been looking at CyberSafety and when asked what they already knew one key message was clear – can you tell what it was from their ideas below?

The Year 9 ICT students have been researching, planning and developing their own versions of ‘Computers for Dummies’ to help new users learn about computers and how to use them. Check out one of the publications below:

The Year 9 ICT students have been researching, planning and developing their own versions of ‘Computers for Dummies’ to help new users learn about computers and how to use them.

Check out the latest blog posts:

Prep – Year 3 Student Link:

https://students.learningplace.eq.edu.au/Early/blog/Pages/default.aspx

Years 4 – 9 Student Link:

https://students.learningplace.eq.edu.au/Middle/blog/Pages/default.aspx

Year 10 Student Link:

https://students.learningplace.eq.edu.au/Senior/blog/Pages/default.aspx

From the Technician’s Table: Password Requirements

When a student accesses any Education Queensland system, including eLearn, iConnect, Student Space and Webmail, they are asked to log in with a username and password.

The primary aims of having a password on our systems are:

  • To protect our students while accessing our systems;
  • To protect information stored on our systems from unauthorised access;
  • To ensure that the level of security assigned to data properly corresponds to its sensitivity and confidentiality; and
  • To mitigate the risk of data loss resulting from accidental or malicious events.

In order to maintain the above, certain rules are in place regarding our passwords that we use.

  1. Students and teachers are required to change their password every 90 days
  2. New passwords cannot have been used during the previous 13 password changes
  3. The length of the password must be at least eight characters
  4. The password cannot contain all or part of the user’s account name
  5. The password must contain characters from three of the following four categories:
      a. English uppercase characters (A through Z)
      b. English lowercase characters (a through z)
      c. Base 10 digits (0 through 9)
      d. Non-alphabetic characters (for example, !. $. #, _, %)
  6. Avoid using words which can be found in the dictionary

Girl Guides

Did you know that Charleville School of Distance Education has its own Girl Guide Unit? The 2nd Charleville (Lone) Guides is an official part of Girl Guides Queensland. In 2016 we will continue Girl Guide sessions on Tuesday afternoons at 3:00pm.

Our weekly sessions (subject to leader availablility during field events) are run as an on-air session using Web Conferencing. The girls learn about the World of Guides, they strive for badges, help out in their community, have fun and fellowship, and meet during Field Events if possible.

Email Mrs Sam O on sowcz1@eq.edu.au if you would like to join and application forms and information will be forwarded to you.

ANZAC Day Service

Many of our Girl Guides gave Service through commerating ANZAC Day in their homes or communities. From participating in the local town’s parade, to laying a wreath at a service to performing an all night guard at a cenotaph – our Guides were there.

Wandoan Parade

Charleville Youth Vigil

Charleville Wreath Laying

http://vimeo.com/168269527

Charleville Parade

Family At Home Service

Thargomindah Secondary Centre News

Tamworth star maker winner, Jarrod Porter ran a young talent competition in 2015. While he was in the area at ‘Music In the Mulga’, he performed at the student’s cross country event in Eulo. On learning of the competition, Jacinta Byrne, a Yr 7 CSDE student this year attending the Thargomindah Remote Learning Centre was the overall winner. Jacinta only recently learned of her win and her prize was a beautiful sounding guitar. She was presented with it at the learning centre and Jacinta strummed a few notes for us. Congratulations. Jacinta has written and sung a song in tribute to the ANZACS and it is worth listening to. It can be found on youtube at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWnxDucOMHI

Experiments seem to have been the order of the day for yr 7 science lately. They have a unit of work headed ‘moving right along’ working around gravity and friction. Here are some photos of Amity at the Thargomindah Remote Secondary Learning Centre undertaking her experiments.

Amity testing gravity

Amity testing friction

Teaching and Learning Library

How we can help you, to help your students…

Reading has been a discussion point in our school for a number of years now and it is always one of the first things parents and Home Tutors request help for. On the 11th May, I held my very first Home Tutor Drop in Session. This session focussed on the incredibly huge topic of “Reading in Years 1-3”. I soon came to realise in planning my session that I was merely going to scrape the surface of such a huge and complex topic and that in fact, we will need to spend many sessions discussing such a thing.

For those who were unable to make it, I focussed on:

  • Developing a love of reading and a discussion around the best conditions for teaching reading
  • The various lesson approaches to teaching reading
  • 3 focus areas on comprehension – vocabulary, inferring and visualisation

The various lesson approaches was one area that seemed to be well received by many Home Tutors and parents. Therefore, I feel that is important that I share the below. This will probably be new learning for many of you.

Four procedures have been selected as a comprehensive approach to teaching reading. The below demonstrates the different approaches and the reduction in teacher responsibility to student responsibility.

As you will see, this follows our Explicit Instruction approach – I do, We do, You do. So, when you first introduce students to a strategy, it should be modelled, but as they become more confident with it, they can do more independent reading to practise that skill.

During the session, most attendees actually identified that they do mainly shared or independent reading in their schoolroom. Which got me thinking:

  • Are we teaching reading as explicitly as we could be?
  • Are we thinking that simple practise will result in the acquisition of the skill, rather than the explicit and specific focus of different skills

Below is an outline from my slides that explains what each of the structures involves

Would you like to know more? We have access to “Teaching Reading” which is a group of online modules designed for teachers and pre-service teachers in understanding how to teach reading. I have however gained access and will be able to put this information on a CD for you to borrow if you wish. If you would like more information or would like to access these resources, please do not hesitate to get into contact with me – zfarr21@eq.edu.au. The resources include vignettes of the activities in action and so on so you can see these things in action. The resources even go further and spend a fair amount of time discussing comprehension as well.

Sam O and I rotate these sessions each fortnight, so that one session will occur each week. In one fortnight, Sam will do a session on ICT and in the session on the opposite fortnights, I will hold a Teaching and Learning session. My sessions will be based around requests from parents, so if you have something you would like to know more about or need some assistance with an aspect in your classroom related to teaching and learning, then please send me your ideas.

Thanks
Zoe Farrer
Head of Department – Teaching and Learning

Terrific Year Two’s

Throughout this semester Year 2C has been working very hard on improving their presentation skills. They have presented reconstructions of poems and alternative character descriptions. Our fabulous home tutors have also risen to the challenge by creating awesome costumes to complement the Year 2’s characters. Keep an eye out for the animations of our poetry reconstructions coming soon to our Charleville SDE YouTube channel!

Persuasive Year Three’s

This term Year 3C has had a massive focus on persuasive writing in their learning. It started with the learning of the skills through the Seven Steps to Writing and was then applied to our Arts Media unit and then to writing persuasive letters to Mrs Swadling to persuade her to have a ‘Family Fun Day’. Go to our school YouTube Channel to view our persuasive ads.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzNeoHtvVck

Year 6 star

Recently, there have been local Shows in our Shires. Matilda Bryant was a very successful competitor at the Mitchell Show. Congratulations Matilda!

Year 1 Master Pieces!

At the end of term one, the year one’s completed an art unit called Colour of My World. Within this unit, the students created colour mosaics, Aboriginal patterned didgeridoo’s and bubble print under the sea landscapes. They were all so amazing that I wanted to share some of the students work with you!

For the colour mosaics, the students had to pick a primary colour of their choice. Once that was completed, they searched through magazines to find colours that were lighter, darker or a slightly different shade. These are the results!

The year one’s also had a great time learning about Aboriginal patterns and motifs. They looked at the way various Aboriginal tools and weapons are used from many places around Australia. The students identified the different patterns and motifs that are used in Aboriginal art and they found out that all of these images have a special meaning to the person who painted them. Looking at the colours that have been used, the year one’s then created their own didgeridoo’s. They look awesome!

Creating the bubble print under the sea landscapes probably got very messy! The students filled a bowl with water, added blue food colouring and detergent. Then the fun began! They put a straw into the water and blew until the paint bubbles rose above the container. Then they gently placed their paper over the bubbles and watched them pop onto their paper. Check out the end product!

The Year One’s also have an awesome foyer display in the front office showcasing their fun times at Minschool and Kick Start.

This is excellent work year one! Keep up the great work!

Miss Kirby

National Simultaneous Storytime

Yr 8 History

Kyle Rose’s Yr 8 History Assignment researching a prominent figure from the Tokugawa Shogunate is presented as an old scroll

Resource Centre Rap

Welcome to the Resource Centre

Charleville School of Distance Education Resource Centre exists to provide resources to support the curriculum and recreational needs of the students, parents and staff of the school community. Our aim is to provide a balanced collection that is both enjoyable and supportive. All students, parents and Home Tutors can borrow resources from the Resource Centre.

Contact us.

Phone:07 4656 8971
Fax: 07 4656 8900
E-mail: jjuni1@eq.edu.au
Postal Address:

Parry Street
Charleville Q 4470

The Resource Centre Offers:

Books- Fiction and Non-fiction for all ages including Adult fiction
Levelled Readers
DVD’s
Audio books
Playaway’s
Computer software
Games and puzzles
Musical Instruments
Sports Equipment
Webcam
Cameras

How do you access the Resource Centre?

Students receive resources in their library bags which have been selected by their teachers and you can contact the Resource Centre yourself if you would like to borrow other resources. This can be done by either phoning or emailing the library or logging on to our school web page and accessing all our resources through the CMEWeb. Here you can search and reserve items and they will be sent out to you.

Accessing the CMEWeb

What is CMEWeb and how do you access it? Click on the powerpoint link for instructions.

Reader Bags

Each student is loaned 2 reader bags from the Resource Centre while they are a student with our school. Your class teacher sends 10 to 20 readers per bag with a list of the enclosed titles and the due for return date is included for your convenience. To receive more readers all the titles must be returned in the reader bag for your child to be sent more. You must contact your class teacher if there are any questions about readers.

Queensland State School eBooks Digital Library.

http://educationqld.lib.overdrive.com/

What is the eBooks Digital Library?

The Queensland State Schools eBooks Digital Library uses the Overdrive platform to provide students with access to hundreds of eBooks to support their learning and love of reading. As long as you are connected to the internet, you can read any eBook in your browser without downloading any additional software. However if you want to download and read your eBooks offline, you will need to download special software. To download and eBook, to read offline at any time and to sync it with other devices you will need to:

  • Install Adobe Digital Editions (EDU) – for PCs and laptops
  • Download and app that is compatible with you mobile device (such as Bluefire Reader or Overdrive)

EBL eBooks can be downloaded directly to your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Kindle Fire and Android device via the free Bluefire Reader app.

To enquire about registering your child or children contact Jenny Juniper on 4656 8971 or email jjuni1@eq.edu.au.

P& C News

The P and C executives would like to welcome all new families to the school and invite you all to join the P and C. Our P and C is a group of volunteers working together to raise funds to purchase resources, send children on camp, assist families with attending field events, build a playground and work towards a better education for our children.

Change of Meeting Day

At last night’s P and C meeting, it was decided to change the meeting day to Tuesday. This will mean that the next P and C meeting will be held on Tuesday 21st June at 7.30pm. Please note the change on your calendar and in your diaries.

Sports Muster

This year Sports Muster will start at 12 on Thursday 11th August. Lunch will be ordered for the students (E-Kindy to Grade 10) and the canteen will be operating for the younger children and adults. The canteen will again run on the Friday and pre-ordered student lunches and morning smoko will be provided by Leith Brennan. Helpers will be required in the canteen on both Thursday afternoon and Friday. Tracy Sargent and Anne-Marie Flynn have agreed to co-ordinate and will be asking for people to volunteer an hour of their time in the canteen. Thanks Tracy and Anne-Marie for putting your hand up.

The smoko challenge will be held on the Thursday afternoon as photos will follow the day’s events. Remember to bring something along so we can win the trophy this year. Leannda and Bianca have done a great job already of organising the theme – “Fifty and Fabulous – Hollywood Style”.

The art and craft booklet is out with plenty of time for the children to work on their pieces. This is a great way for students to contribute towards the points.

50th Anniversary

The 50th Anniversary celebrations kick off with the book launch on Friday night. Saturday is the markets, the wine and cheese tent at the races and then the Trivia night on Saturday night. The breakfast on Sunday concludes our celebrations. Watch notices for more details.

50th Anniversary photo Book

The committee has been very busy compiling the book, raising sponsorship and working with graphic designers to ensure we have a fabulous book to commemorate the school’s 50th Anniversary. The P and C would like to thank the following sponsors of the book: Elders, Southern Wire and Williams, Hall and Chadwick Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors. Please consider supporting these companies as they have supported us.

Battery Drive

Sue Hurford has organised for batteries from the St George Cluster to get dropped off at CRT. Details about dates for transport will be finalised later. Please ask your family and friends if they have any old batteries. Julie Hawker has organised for Paroo Shire Council to store their batteries for us. Thanks for organising this Sue and Julie. Sally and Damian Campbell and Anne-Marie and Gregg Flynn are still collecting batteries and raising a lot of money for the P and C. Many thanks to these families for all they do. For any further information or to co-ordinate a drive in your area, contact Sally on abc_campbell@harboursat.com.au.

Fundraising

This year the P and C will be running a Pie Drive in August. This is a great way to support the school, but also to fill your freezer with yummy pies that are quick and easy to cook for those busy days we all have.

Sally West, Jacqui Tickell and Sue Hurford have taken up the challenge of organising the Cent Sale for Sports Muster to raise funds for the ski trip. A flyer will be coming out in notices shortly. A big thank you to the ladies for volunteering their time. Ticket sellers will be required at Sports Muster, so please consider putting your name down for an hour.

We will also be doing Calendars, Diaries and Cards later in the year. Please keep an eye out for documents in relation to both these fundraising activities.

Grants

We are always looking out for ways to fund money to assist our students, families and the school. If you hear of any grants, please contact me or another executive.

REMINDER……

All memberships are NOW DUE

If you have not been receiving the documents for the meetings, your membership is not current for 2016. Membership is free. Please complete the form and send to the secretary.

Cluster Musters Quilpie and Charleville
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Cluster Musters Quilpie and Charleville
Click images to enlarge