so family and friends are also welcome, we also provide morning tea. For more information please contact Melissa on 0456 682 868. Looking forward to catching up with continuing families and meeting new ones. Melissa Alexander Playgroup Coordinator

Due to some irregular scheduling of dates this year there will be no Interschool Sport until Term 3. Our Senior Track & Field Carnival has also had to be pushed forward to early Term 2. Important Dates for this Term: Western Ranges District Swimming Trials at Gatton: Thursday 17 February Western Ranges District Basketball Trials: Friday 1 March Met West 10 – 19yrs Golf Trials: Tue 5 March Ipswich Zone 10 – 12yrs Touch Trials: Wed 6 March Ipswich Zone 10 – 12yrs AFL Trials: Thu 7 March Ipswich Zone 10/11yrs Rugby League Trials: Wed 13 March Ipswich Zone 11/12yrs Rugby League Trials: Thu 14 March Ipswich Zone 10-12yrs Hockey Trials: Thu 14 March Ipswich Zone 10 – 12yrs Netball Trials: Thu 14 March 10,11,& 12 yrs Western Ranges District Rugby League Trial: Friday 22 March Ipswich Zone Cross Country: Thursday 4 April Swimming has commenced for years 4 to 6. All students are expected to swim each week. All children MUST have a swimming cap, and jewellery is not permitted in the pool. Children with earrings are encouraged to either pull their swimming cap down over their earrings, tape them, or remove them at home. Children are NOT encouraged to remove earrings at the pool. If children cannot swim due to illness or injury, children must bring a note from home or ring the school to leave me a message to keep me informed. Parents are invited to come and help at swimming lessons, but no other children are permitted in the pool area. Calvin Hegvold HPE Tea

Student Banking is on Fridays. Take your deposit book to your classroom to be placed in the satchel to go to the office for processing. This year’s banking prizes are:

Term 1: Scented Stackable Highlighter, Snowy Origami Set Term 2: Yeti Fluffy Notebook, Icicle Slap band Ruler Term 3: Arctic Owl Fluffy Keyring, Scratch Art Cards Term 4: Water Skimming Bounce Ball, Polar Pencils & Pencil Toppers Students can redeem 10 silver Dollar mites tokens for a Polar Savers reward by completing a redemption slip and returning the whole slip with the students name and banker ID on their School Banking day.

THE YEAR BEGINS The start of the year is filled with new things. Children are getting to know new friends, new teachers, new routines and new learning. Parents are meeting new par-ents, new teachers and learning new ex-pectations as their child grows and devel-ops. It is a new start for teachers too as they get to know their students, new fami-lies and for some a new curriculum. Teach-

ers are working really hard to establish routines to help chil-dren settle into learning and help them feel comfortable in the school environment. The best way that we can all work together is to make time to develop positive and productive partnerships, with teachers, other parents and our children’s new friends. Building new relationships can take time and we can start by taking time to say good morning to each other, giving a warm smile and working together to help the children settle into new routines. Over the next couple of weeks it would be great if you could make time to catch up with your child’s teacher and let them know important information about your child. Sharing information helps parents and teachers to build the team that successfully supports each and every student. READING AND WRTING FLOAT ON A SEA OF TALK-ING

Reading is a high priority in our school. Our teachers work closely together to provide quality instruction in reading. Teachers work in teams to share ideas about student learn-ing and support each other to solve teach-ing challenges. Learning to read can be a complex task. Great teachers know that to support students to master this complex task, students need to be enthusiastic, en-gaged and taught to be persistent. Teachers spend many hours planning

engaging lessons, creating fun resources and demonstrating quality reading strate-gies to students. Classrooms are set up in ways to support student curiosity, to pro-vide quiet places and talking spaces, to des-ignate areas for teacher led lessons and small group work. In the Prep classrooms, children have started their reading journey by learning letters and sounds, in an age appropriate way. In Year One, teachers have been working together in teams to plan interesting and effective lessons to teach vocabulary to students. Students are encouraged to use these words in their conversations, in their writing and to demonstrate their understanding when they read these words in books. Each day teachers dedicate 15 minutes to independent reading. During this time, students take turns reading to their teach-ers who in turn, give students feedback about how they are reading. Parents can help their child build reading skills by helping them to enjoy reading. Talk about the pictures, talk about the sto-ry or share your ideas about the books you love. Just like with reading, we aim to get children excited about writ-ing and to begin to see themselves as creators of written messages. It has been great to visit year one class-rooms and see children enthusiastically writing about the activities they did on the weekend. Rae-Louise Colbert Deputy Principal Years Prep—1

Playgroup returns next Monday 11 February, 9am-11am in X Block. Families with children from birth to pre-prep age are welcome to attend. This is a FREE community playgroup

From Deputy Principal Prep - Year 1

School Banking

From the Sports Desk

Playgroup

Dear Parents and Caregivers A warm welcome back to everyone at the start of the 2019 school year. A special welcome is extended to our new families, of whom there are many. We welcomed all our new students individually by name at the first assembly of the year. It has been lovely to start to get to know these new students. It has also been great to welcome back so many familiar faces. We have also welcomed some new teachers to our school this year. They are: Juliet Weeks in year 5, Sarah Carlow in year 4, Noeni Hill in year 3, David Knight in year 1 and Claudia Coles in Prep. We wish them well in their careers at Silkstone State School. We also welcomed a number of new teacher aides to our school and I am sure they will all enjoy working with the teachers and your children during this year. We have enjoyed a very settled start back to school. All of us have been very impressed with how the students have returned to school, ready to learn. We are seeing our 4 school expectations, Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be an Active Learner, being displayed in the classrooms across the school. As in previous years, those students who consistently uphold our four expectations will receive stickers, participate in rewards days and be invited to Principal’s Morning Tea. At the time of writing this newsletter, we have approximately 830 students attending our school. It seems that there are fewer prep children around this year, but lots of year 1s, so we will be adjusting our classes in Year 1 and Prep. Affected children and families will have already received notice of this. This year, why not consider participating in our P and C. Volunteering is a great way to make a contribution to the school and studies show that people who regularly volunteer have improved happiness and wellbeing. In 2019, we are looking at hosting a Spring Fair, so we will need lots of volunteers. Our first P and C Meeting of the year will be on February 19 at 4pm in the Conference Room, next door to the staffroom. I wish everyone a successful 2019 at Silkstone State School, and look forward to developing great partnerships with our families during the year. Have a great fortnight. Mike Sawbridge Principal

Silkstone State

School Molloy Street

Silkstone Qld 4304

Phone: 3437 2111 Absentee: 3437 2166 Fax: 3281 8059 E-mail: the.principal@silkstonss.eq.edu.au

Web site: www.silkstonss.eq.edu.au

Newsletter 7 February 2019 Term 1 Week 2

Mission Statement: We at Silkstone State School, in partnership w ith the community, aim to create an environment of active learners. We believe all children are capable of reaching their full potential. We commit to building resilient students who strive for excellence and become responsible, respectful citizens.

Welcome back to the 2019 school year!

SILKSTONE STATE SCHOOL

Principal’s Report German News School Parking Swim Club

1

From the Deputy Principal Year 2,3&4 Music News

2

From the Deputy Principal Year 5&6 Coming Events Accompanying Handouts Accompanying handouts

3

From the Deputy Principal Prep - Year 1 Playgroup From the Sorts Desk School Banking

4

Inside this issue:

Principal’s Report

Guten Tag! Servus! Grüss Gott! They all mean the same thing. Hello! Week 5 is German Week when the Year 5 and 6 classes will be celebrating all things

German. German Day is on Thursday, February 28. Staff are encouraged to dress in traditional German clothes and many students of the German language are donning some genuine German garments. Watch for the Pretzel Guessing Competition in which there w ill be many winners. Thanks to the many parents, relatives and friends who have supported German Week in previous years. During German Week, there will be games in the hall for all Year 5 and 6 students instead of the usual LOTE lesson. I am asking for adult volunteers to help supervise these activities each day to help make the week a success. Volunteers will also be needed on German Day, Thursday, February 28 in the preparation of the German lunch. All Year 5 and 6 students will receive a parent letter so helpers can submit the times when they are able to attend. Adult support is much appreciated! In previous years, Ipswich Coles has provided some free food for the meal. Thanks Coles! Let’s join in the fun! All staff and students of Silkstone State School are encouraged to wear German clothes only on German Day. Phillip Frahm LOTE Teacher

Please remember to park safely, our children are im-portant! The coun-cil will be regularly policing the areas on both sides of the school to en-sure the start of the school year is a safe one.

German News

Swim Club

Swim Club season has begun!

All Welcome! $3 per child

Register at 6.00pm for

a 6.30pm start

Must have swimming cap

Welcome back to my Year 4’s and to the new Year 3’s and in addition, an extra welcome to the new Year 2’s, who I also will be looking after this year. So, I am now Deputy Principal of Year 2, 3 and 4 and loving it!

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome two new staff members Ms. Noeni Hill and Ms. Sarah Carlow to my teaching teams. Both teachers have conveyed to me that they couldn’t be more ecstatic to be a part of Silkstone State School and will strive to make a positive impact on those that they teach.

2019 school year is off to a great start, with the vast majority of our year 2’s, 3’s and 4’s demonstrating Silkstone State School Behaviour Expectations, as captured in the photos below…..

Religious Instruction lessons start on the 22nd February (week 4).

Please remind your child that the Religion Instruction Staff are invited guests to Silkstone State School, and they are to be welcomed and treated with respect. It is important that every student and each class act as representatives/models/examples of Silkstone State School values. The way your class behaves reflects, either positively, or negatively on all the students, the class teacher and the school community as a whole.

Talk to your child about showing respect for teachers and classmates.

Respectful behaviour is just as important at school as it is

at home. When students have respect for teachers and classmates, they help create the positive learning environment in which all children can to be successful. You

can help achieve this by encouraging your child to:

Address the teacher by name. Simply saying “Good morning, Mrs. Jones” for example, is an easy way to show respect.

Be courteous - say please and thank you to his/her teacher and their classmates.

Raise his/her hand - wait to be called on, this demonstrates self-control and respect for others.

Do what’s expected - everyone in school has a job to do. If the teacher doesn’t plan any lessons, no one can

learn anything. If students don’t do their jobs - completing , listening to the teacher - it makes it more difficult to learn.

Listen to the teacher’s comments - teachers want students to learn and to succeed. That means they have to point out mistakes. Your child will do much better in school if he/she can recognize and accept constructive feedback.

“Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners.”

Laurence Sterne

Shaida Rojc Deputy Principal Years 2,3&4

Welcome to the 2019 Music program! Harmonies Choir is now full and has already started practising ready for the May eisteddfod. Years 3 – 6 children who have expressed an interest in B.R.A.S.S.S (Boys’ Choir) and Girls’ Choir w ill have brought home a letter today. These are both un-auditioned and year long choirs but are just as busy as Harmonies Choir! Should your child be interested but did not bring home a letter, you are still able to collect a letter from the office or Music Room. Both choirs will start in Week 4 – Boys’ Choir 8.00am on Monday mornings and Girls’ Choir 8.00am on Tuesday mornings. Children’s names will not be added to the roll unless the permission form is returned. Please note that children are not invited to perform at an upcoming performance unless they have good attendance at practices. Year 2 Choir w ill begin in Term 3. A letter w ill come home with interested children at the end of Term 1. Instrumental Opportunities for New Children at Silkstone SS Should your child in Years 3 – 6 be new to our school and you would like information about the school’s Instrumental program, please contact me. We currently have some beginner flute positions available for Year 4 children who are new to the school. Beginning and Continuing Instrumental Children will have Brought home letters today about the start of the program. We are back in the original Instrumental Room—under the

From the Music Room

From Deputy Principal Year 2,3&4 From Deputy Principal Year 2,3&4

Fraser House Captains

Ashlee Hughes Teliyah Mafi Riley McKeown Laver House Captains

Mason Veale-Portas Kali Taylor Shanequa Timperley Bradman House Captains

Corey Grieve Chloe Bichel Matthew Aafjes German Captains

Issac Steczkowicz Aleena Walters

February Mon 11 School Captain Badge Presentation Assembly — Hall 2.15pm Tues 19 P & C meeting and AGM—4.00pm Fri 22 Prep QT photos Mon 25 German Week Thurs 28 Principal’s Morning Tea March Fri 8 Attendance Breakfast Wed 27 Metro Choral Honours Program Money Window Open Monday to Friday 8am - 11am (only) Direct Debit Payments BSB: 064-417 Account Number:00091102 (Include child's name and what payment is for) Uniform Shop Terms 1 & 4 Monday 8 -10am & Thursday 1.30-3.30pm Terms 2 & 3 Thursday 1.30pm—3.30pm (Cash and EFTPOS are accepted)

Music Room in H Block. Please note that lessons for everyone start in Week 2 and Concert Band and String Ensemble for continuing children start in Week 3. Give Aways Some black shoes, black pants and Music Shirts have been donated by parents of past students. You are welcome to have a look in the Music Room. Recorders Children in years 3, 4, 5 and 6 require a recorder for music. You can purchase one from Town Tone Music Store, which has relocated to Limestone Street, near Tomato Brothers. My understanding is they should cost $7 each. Please apply your child’s name to their recorder before sending to school. Year 3 children will have brought home a letter today. Being in Touch! Letters will come home for all events, coinciding with newsletter day. Also, I will send reminders out at times via email groups (all emails remain confidential) and sometimes phone home. Please feel free to email, call or pop in should you have a concern. Should your child be absent from a practice, we would appreciate a call or email. Linda Weatherhead lweat5@eq.edu.au ; Julie Lewis jlewi54@eq.edu.au ; Fimka Hampson fhamp2@eq.edu.au Linda Weatherhead Music Teacher

We are pleased to announce our Silkstone Student Leaders for 2019. These students have already done an outstanding job in the first two weeks of school, leading our first whole school assembly, opening the sports shed for our senior students and being positive role models. Our student leaders will be presented with their badges at our Badge Presentation Ceremony on Monday, 11 February, commencing at 2:15 in the school hall.

School Captains School Vice Captains

Ethan Begg Piper Brown Eli Salisbury Kiara Hardingham

Music Captains

Elizabeth Flynn Wright Jaelyn Daniels Robert Devantier Lawrie Indigenous Captains

Reya Bunda & Blade Mears

Coming Events

From Deputy Principal Year 5&6

Deputy Principal Year 5&6 continued From the Music Room continued