NEWS Stepping Up & Reaching Out 13 APRIL 2017

Important Notes/Dates / A note from the Principal
Term Dates 2017:
Term 1 – Monday 30 January – Thursday 13 April
Term 2 – Monday 1 May – Friday 7 July
Term 3 – Monday 24 July – Friday 29 September
Term 4 – Monday 16 October – Friday 15 December
Public Holidays
Monday 6 February – Waitangi Day
Friday 14 April – Good Friday
Tuesday 25 April - Anzac Day
Monday 5 June - Queens Birthday
Monday 16 October – Labour Day
Friday 17 November – Canterbury Anniversary Day
Teacher Only Day:
Tuesday 6 June
What’s coming up:

APRIL:

Thursday 13 April – House Competition – Remember House T Shirts
Thursday 13 April – Last day Term 1
Friday 14 April – Good Friday – School closed for instruction

MAY:

Monday 1 May – Term 2 begins
Tuesday 2 May – BOT Meeting 5pm
Tuesday 9 May – YR7/8 Zone Netball Trials 3-5.30pm
Wednesday 10 May – YR2 Worm Magic /Gardens 9am – 1pm
Thursday 11 May – YR2 Worm Magic /Gardens 9am – 1pm
Friday 12 May – YR0-3 Cross Country 11.15-12.30 (PP date 26 May)
Monday 15 May – Book Week – Theme: Animals (dress up day 19th May)
Tuesday 16 May – QPS Open Day – Come along at any time to any class and see what we are up to.
Tuesday 16 May – Senior Cross Country – 12-3pm (PP date 18th May)
Tuesday 23 May – Zone Cross Country 12.30-3pm (PP date 30 May)
Tuesday 30 May – ICAS Science Exam 11am hall foyer

June:

Friday 2 June – Rahwiti Sport begins
Tuesday 6 June – Teacher Only Day – School closed for instruction
Tuesday 13 June – ICAS Writing Exam – 11am hall foyer
Wednesday 14 June – ICAS Spelling Exam – 11am hall foyer
Friday 16 June – LEAP – 3-4pm school hall
Tuesday 20 June – Junior Mini Concert 11am school hall
Tuesday 20 June – Canterbury Cross Country
Tuesday 27 June – Senior Mini Concert 11am school hall
Friday 30 June – QPS DISCO!!

July:

Friday 7 July – Last day Term 2
Monday 24 July – First day Term 1
Tuesday 25 July – Pre ICAS English Exam 11am hall foyer
Tuesday 25 July – YR1 Swimming begins
Thursday 27 July – YR2 Swimming begins

August:

Tuesday 1 August – Zone Winter Sport Tournament (details tbc) (PP Date 8 August)
Tuesday 1 August – ICAS English Exam 11am hall foyer
Wednesday 2 August – Strum, Strike, Blow Festival
Tuesday 8 August – Pre ICAS Maths Exam 11am hall foyer
Wednesday 9 August – QPS Open Day – Come along at any time to any class and see what we are up to
Monday 14 August – Life Education begins
Monday 14 August – Cultural Festival begins
Tuesday 15 August – ICAS Maths Exam 11am hall foyer
Friday 24 August – Canterbury Winter Tournament (details TBC)

September:

Friday 8 September – LEAP – 3-4pm school hall
Thursday 28 September – QPS Showcase 6pm school hall
Friday 29 September – Last day Term 3

October:

Monday 16 October – First day Term 4
Tuesday 24 October – Nest Class Beach visit
Wednesday 25 October – Rm 7 Beach visit
Thursday 26 October – Senior Athletic Day 9.30am – 3pm (PP Date 2 November)
Friday 27 October – QPS Open Day – Come along at any time to any class and see what we are up to
Friday 27 October – YR6 Cycle Safety begins

November:

Wednesday 1 November – Rm13 visit the beach
Thursday 2 November – Rm8 visit the beach
Friday 3 November – Rm12 visit the beach
Friday 10 November – YR0-3 Athletics Day 10.30am-12.30pm (PP Date: 16 November)
Wednesday 15 November – Zone Athletics Day 9am – 3pm (PP Date: 20 November)
Tuesday 21 November – Junior Mini Concert 11am school hall
Friday 24 November – School Twilight Fair 5-8pm
Tuesday 28 November – Senior Concert 11am school hall
Wednesday 29 November – YR1 Wheels Day 11.30am – 12.30pm

December:

Friday 1 December – LEAP 3-4pm school hall
Tuesday 5 December – YR1 Parent Assembly 9.15am
Wednesday 6 December – Canterbury Athletics
Friday 15 December – Last day Term 4 – All classes released at 12.30pm
Parklands Rugby Club
We are still accepting players in U8,U9 & U12 tackle grades in fact all grades including ripper rugby even if you haven't played before you are more than welcome to join.
Parklands Rugby is a junior rugby club where its a all about the kids our subs are $75.00 and this includes a Parklands Rooster Hoodie, mouthguard and end of season team photo.
If interested please call Glen 0212262488 or 3638377 / Dear Parents / Caregivers,
As term 1 draws to a close we reflect on a very busy but productive term of learning for our children. We are proud of the start they have all made to the year and the way they are getting fully involved in their learning. We have fantastic learners at QPS ! Check out our highlights below.
School Happenings / Highlights Term 1
  • John Parsons – Cyber Safety – Great messages for children, staff and parents alike
  • School Swimming Sports
  • House leaders and school councellors stepping up with their leadership
  • A year 3 team led by Kyla Murtha initiating and driving a Friendship seat project
Year 7/8
  • Mountain Biking and Art club
  • Starting our Technology partnership at Mairehau High School
  • Awesome Challenge Week
  • Digging deep at Literacy with our "Challenge" focus and thinking critically about texts based on challenges that people overcome.
  • Softball with Sports Canterbury
  • A fantastic start to the year working in the “ power of two “
  • Students taking ownership of their learning.
Year 2
  • Broad Park Picnic- Getting to know each other Parents and students
  • Team Fitness- Daily fitness circuit in the morning/Cosmic Yoga- after lunch
  • Year 1/2 Discovery based on Q Competencies
  • Scientist of the Week/Kitchen Science
Year3/4
  • Our updated learning spaces to now include the old cloakrooms as learning areas.
  • More modern and flexible furniture in classes.
  • Focus on Science with hands on practical experiments on floating & sinking, magnetism and wondering tables.
  • Getting the year 3s onto Google Docs for the first time.
Year 5/6
  • Year 5 and 6 had fantastic Woodend Camps.
  • Swimming every day for 2 weeks and saw many children gaining more confidence in the water and moving up swimming levels in this intensive programme.
  • Began creating our 'Maker Space' in Room 21.
  • El Grego – anti bullying magic show
Junior School
  • Year 1 classes visited the Parklands Library and received great feedback from Steve the librarian.
Hello Andrea
“ Just dropping you a line on behalf of the Parklands Library team and Sam (now at Spreydon Library) to say how much we enjoyed the junior class visits this term. We appreciate that it's not always easy to get here!
It was very clear that the children enjoyed themselves and heartening that we are seeing more families in the library as a result. One thing that really struck us was the large number of children who have library cards which is a testament to the great work the school is doing in this area.
Your classes did the school proud and displayed the Three R's
beautifully!
We look forward to further class visits from the school throughout the
year.”
Kind regards
Steve
Help in Classrooms – Can you help ?
We are on the look out for parents / grandparents who could help us in classrooms on a regular basis. We have a number of children school wide,who need additional support for their learning but they don’t necessarily qualify for additional MOE resourcing. If you could help here we would love to hear from you.
Please phone 383 1578 and leave your name at the office.
David Stewart: Foundation Principal “ Learn to Swim Scholarship “
As you will be aware David Stewart the first Principal of Queenspark sadly passed away last year. David was an inspirational educator and I have had the privilege of sharing time with him firstly as a young teacher and in recent years as Principal. David had a strong association with Surf Life Saving and had a strong belief that every child should have the opportunity to learn to swim. David’s family has donated a sum of money to our school to support children in need who are learning basic aquatic skills. We are in talks with a local surf lifesaving club to see how we could turn this donation into an ongoing learn to swim scholarship in Davids name. What a great way to keep Davids legacy alive at Queenspark. We intend to make this opportunity available to 3 -4 children each year. We thank David’s family for this wonderful gesture.
Education Review Office Visit
ERO normally visit schools every three to four years to conduct an external evaluation. Last week we had three reviewers visit our school focusing on equity and excellence, accelerating student achievement and student achievement. The feed back was most positive and they had good things to say about the way we are going about meeting children’s needs at Queenspark. They spoke about the positive and supportive school culture and the way the children readily embrace the many learning opportunities at Queenspark.
They also acknowledged the many examples of high quality teaching practices and the progressive way that teachers put into making a difference for children’s learning. We are currently waiting on a draft report, which we will share with you when this is confirmed.
Education Brief for school upgrade
This was completed at the start of the term and submitted to the MOE early March. We are awaiting on the appointment of an architectural team so that design work can begin. This work is long overdue and we look forward to this property work commencing. Thank you for your feedback regarding this in the survey sent out during the term. We have included this in our submitted document.
Funding for property work
The funding for the above work is based on the number of in zone children we have at this school. For some time now we have not been enrolling out of zone families for this very reason as property funding is generated only by the numbers of in zone pupils. We are conscious however some of our families are classified as out of zone simply as a result of earthquake circumstances. We are currently figuring out a way to get feedback from these families as to what their stories are so that we can make a case to the Ministry that these children should generate property funding also. This includes our sibling children whose families have been in zone and then moved out of zone. Our discussions with the Ministry on what our build number should be are ongoing.
Derek Wenmoth – Core Education
Derek has worked with us again this term in his role as an advisor / facilitator with teams across the school as we further develop our teaching and learning practice at Queenspark. Derek is a highly respected educationalist in Australasia and we are enjoying the privilege of working with him.
Staff Professional Development
Each week our Curriculum Focus Teams (CFT’s) facilitate professional development for staff. This term we have focused on written language, oral language, reading, mathematics and gathering, assessing and moderating learning data.
Happy Holidays! Have a relaxing Easter. Wishing you lots of quality time
with your families over the break.
Regards
Ross Willocks
Principal 
How to know when it is safe for your child to return to school after illness:
It may be easy to know when your child is too sick to go to school, but it is often difficult to determine when they are ready to go back. Sending your child back too soon can delay their recovery and make other children in the school more susceptible to the virus as well. Below are some guidelines that may help you decide whether or not your child is ready to return to school.

No Fever

Once the fever has been controlled for over 24 hours without medication, the child is usually safe to return to school. However, your child may still need to stay home if they are continuing to experience other symptoms, such as diarrhea, vomiting, or a persistent cough.

Medication

Your child may return to school after taking medication the doctor prescribed for a minimum of 24 hours, as long as they don't have a fever or other serious symptoms. Make sure that the school nurse and your child’s teacher are aware of these medications and their proper doses. School administrators will be able to assist with children taking medication at school.
Tummy Bug /Vomiting /Diarrhoea:
Children with diarrhea and/or vomiting should definitely be kept off school until at least24 hours since the last vomit or 48 hoursafter their symptoms have gone. Most cases of diarrhea and vomiting in children get better with lots of fluids and without treatment, but if symptoms persist, consult your GP. Please use careful judgment here and do not return children too early.
In the end, you may have to rely on your parental intuition to make the final call. You know your child better than anyone, so you’ll be able to tell when they’re feeling better. Do they look too miserable to go to school? Are they playing and acting normally, or are they happy to curl up in a chair with a blanket? Trust your intuition to make the best decision. If you have any doubts, always remember you can ask others such as the school nurse or your child’s pediatrician. They will be glad to offer you advice.
Dogs on School Grounds
PLEASE do not bring dogs on to the school grounds. We have several signs up around the school stating NO DOGS. We have had cases lately of children stepping in dog poo 

“Bridget and Glenn Hanrahan (parents at Queenspark school) have recently opened HelloworldFendalton. Bridget has been a travel consultant for many years! Below is an invitation to their upcoming Cruise Information Evening, and should you have any other holiday ideas you would like Bridget to look into for you please email her onor call her direct on 03 741 2352.”


Animals is the theme for

Book Week!

Term 2, Week 3, May 15th - 19th

Here are some of the activities that are planned so far -

Author/illustrator Helen Taylor is coming to talk about writing and illustrating books to students.
/ Dress-up as
a Book Character
Friday 19th May
If you need ideas check out or the Queenspark School Library Pinterest page or the display in the Library.
# ANY book character, not necessarily an Animal (There will be mask making in Week 2, in the Library.)

There will also be competitions, a book swap, teachers swapping classes to read stories, + more!
Dear Parents and Caregivers.
We would love you to be involved too. So please stay and check out the costumes on Friday 19th. We will have the adult book swap again this year but we will locate it in the Hall Foyer - just bring along a book or 2 or 3 that you’ve read and swap it for something new to read!The Library will be open daily from 8.30-9am; come in and read to your children/pre-schoolers, talk to Maree (Librarian) for ideas on what your child can be reading, about how to join as a parent and borrow from our parent collection, and how to borrow our eBooks.