2024 Term 1, Week 8 Newsletter

Principal's News

School Photo Day is Tuesday 23 April 2024

See below flyer to order your photos.

Sibling Photos will take place from 8.30-9.00am in Pittsworth Function Centre. Parents, please accompany your children to PFC for these photos.

If you DO NOT want your child to have their photo taken, or have their name in the class photo, please contact the office as soon as possible and they will be excluded.

Hearing Tests

To give our children the best start in life, it is important that they have good hearing and healthy ears!

Carbal Medical Services offers hearing health checks for students at PSS.

Doing so is your best chance of preventing Ear Disease; which can lead to loss of hearing forever if left unchecked.

Register your child today to receive a hearing test in early Term 3.

Phone 1300 379 558 or visit:

www.carbal.com.au/hearing-health

QParents

We recently emailed out invitations to Parents/Carers to join QParents. 

We strongly encourage you to join up.

You can easily:

• Provide digital Consent (no more returning paper forms!)
• Notify if your child will be absent
• Pay invoices (quick and easy)
• View Report Cards
• Update Student Details

Contact the office today if you have any queries and to obtain your child's EQ ID Number.

QParents will make your life so much easier, no more paper forms!!!

Protocols for Parents & Visitors

All visitors to the school during the hours of 9am and 3pm are required to present to the office and sign in:  parents, carers, visitors, contractors are not allowed to access the school unless prior permission has been granted.

Parents are not allowed to access student classrooms unless authorised by a member of the administration team.

The school gates will be open at 8.30am for students to enter the school.  The gates will then be closed at 9am (excluding the front pedestrian gate at Admin) and then re-opened at 3pm for students to exit. 

Thank you for understanding that these protocols are in place primarily for student protection purposes.

Curriculum

Parent Teacher Interviews Term 1, 2024

The 12 minute interviews will be conducted on Monday 18 March in Bottle Tree Hall for all parents/students in Prep to Year 6, as per the times listed below.

Bookings are made by clicking on the link below:  

https://pittsworthss.schoolzineplus.com/2024ParentTeacherInterviewsTerm1

PCYC Cycle Safety Courses for 3/4 classes

3/4A – Wednesday, 8 & Thursday, 9 May 2024

3/4BR – Wednesday, 15 & Thursday, 16 May 2024

3/4PD – Wednesday, 22 & Thursday, 23 May 2024

Consent will be sent home via QParents and emailed to non-QParents this week.

Consent and $20 payment is due by 1 May 2024

NAPLAN

Students in Years 3 and 5 will undertake NAPLAN from the 13 – 25 March 2024.

More information regarding NAPLAN can be found at:  https://nap.edu.au/naplan/for-parents-carers

Term 1 Important Dates

Sporting News

Cross Country  - next Friday 22 March 

PSS Cross Country.  Friday, 22 March 2024 (Week 9).  Training has commenced, Tuesday and Friday mornings at 8:30 on the oval, with Miss Will.  Timetable of Events detailed below.

Gore Highway Cross Country: 18 April 2024 at Cecil Plains.

Inner Downs Basketball Trials

On Monday 11 March, nine students represented our school at the Inner Downs Basketball Trials at Highfields. This included Lucas, Brodie, Preston, Patrick, Cooper, Tori, Ariana, Lilly and Rhoella.

Brodie, Patrick, Tori, Ariana, Lilly and Rhoella made the Inner Downs teams and will be heading to Toowoomba, Monday 25 March for the DD Trials.

Congratulations to all students! It is great to see so many attending the trials. We wish the IDZ students all the best at the DD Trials.

Inner Downs Netball Trials

Lily and Ariana represented the Inner Downs Netball Team in Toowoomba to try out for the Darling Downs Team. However, the girls were not selected, they both should be extremely proud of their efforts. Lilly was selected in the Possibles and Probables which consisted of the top 20 netball players. Awesome effort by both girls! Now they are both of to, DD Basketball Trials!

Touch and Boys Rugby League IDZ Trials

Trials for Touch will be held on the 18 March and Rugby League Trials are on the 19 March. Nominations are now closed and we wish everyone that has nominated all the best for next week.

FUTSAL Clinics, Years 3-6 students

Friday 17 May and Friday 24 May.  Bottle Tree Hall.  

Inner Downs Trial Fees

As the IDZ Trials are currently underway, we would like to bring to your attention a matter of utmost importance regarding the nomination fee. The IDZ Sports Contact has advised some students are attending trials without having paid their nomination fee. They wish to emphasize the critical nature of timely payment to ensure the smooth conduct of the trials and maintain fairness in the process.

To facilitate the payment process, we kindly request all participants to utilize the Qkr! app. It is imperative that the nomination fee is settled by the designated date. Failure to adhere to this deadline will regrettably render students ineligible to partake in the trials.

Please see the Guide below for detailed instructions on utilizing the Qkr! app. 

NO fee paid by due date = No trial for students

2024 Darling Downs School Sport

Parents/Carers please contact Ms Will for further information regarding these events. These events will be open to students that are interested and have experience in these sporting events. Nominations come out a few weeks prior to events so please let Ms Will know closer to the event if your child is interested.

Students will only be nominated for Cross Country and Track & Field if they have made qualifying times.

Ms Will’s email: bwill641@eq.edu.au or phone 4619 8333.

The Arts

SRC News/Eco Club News

Student Support Services

Useful phone numbers and links for Parents and Students

Kids Helpline (24hrs): 1800 551 800 https://kidshelpline.com.au/

Lifeline (24hrs): 13 11 14  https://www.lifeline.org.au/

Headspace (9am – 1 am 7 days per week)  https://headspace.org.au/eheadspace/

Parentline (8am-10pm): 1300 30 1300  https://parentline.com.au/

Bullying No Way www.bullyingnoway.gov.au

Beyond Blue (24/7 mental health support): 1300 22 46 36 www.beyondblue.org.au

Standby – Suicide Bereavement Support (24/7) : 1300 727 247  www.standbysupport.com.au

DV Connect (24 hr Domestic Violence helpline): 1800 811 811 www.dvconnect.org.au

P&C Patch

Tuckshop

Tuckshop is back up and running on Wednesdays and Fridays.  Orders can be placed through the Qkr! app and close at 8.30am.

We still need a couple of extra Tuckshop helpers this term.  Thank you to the people that have already put their name down.  If you think you could possibly spare a few hours on a Friday morning, please contact Karla in the Tuckshop or email psssecretary@outlook.com

What volunteering in the tuckshop looks like…

2.5 hrs of your time

9:00 – 11:30am (or longer if you wish)

• Counting money to make sure it matches the order/ printing and sticking on labels for online orders
• Burger/sandwich/wrap prep
• Pack orders with pre-prepared food items (muffins, milo balls, sumo cookies)
• Pack hot foods/drinks into order bags
• Wash and clean up
• Serve ice cream and ice blocks

It is that easy and the time will fly!

Book Club

Book Club Issue 2 is currently out.  Orders due Thursday 14 March.

Council Free Plant vouchers

Did you just receive a free plant voucher from Toowoomba Regional Council in your rates notice?   We are currently seeking donations of these vouchers to contribute towards improve our school grounds.  Vouchers can be donated to the school office.

Cool Nights Big Band on stage

Keep your eyes open for further details on this event, coming up on Sat, 11^th May.  It’ll be a great night out!

VOLUNTEERS – MANDATORY TRAINING
There is a small amount of mandatory training that must be completed in order to volunteer at school.   It is quite quick to complete (10-15 minutes)

NEXT P&C MEETING

Next General Meeting will be held THIS Thursday 14 March at the Pittsworth Function Centre, commencing at 6.30pm sharp.

Mandatory Volunteers Training - All volunteers must complete before volunteering at our school.

P&C Bank Account Details

P&C Forms and Tuckshop Menu

Have you downloaded the Qkr! App to order tuckshop?

Quick, easy, no more looking for cash!

Tuckshop open Wednesdays and Fridays

School Management

For Tender - Panasonic TV

See document below for further details and photos.

Tender closes Thursday 14 March 2024.

Join QParents 

Excursion Consent Forms

Time Out Poster  - Keeping Our Kids Healthy

Transport Forms

Medication at School

Birthday Celebrations at School

School Dress Code

Mandatory Volunteers Training 

Health Food and Drinks at School

Payment Methods

Office Hours
The school office is open daily from 8.30am - 3.30pm with the exception of Visitors who are required to sign in upon arrival.  

Visitors to our School
All Visitors to our school, including Volunteers and Parent Helpers, are required to electronically Sign In at the office and obtain a Visitors Lanyard which is to be worn at all times whilst on school grounds.  You are then required to Sign Out at the office prior to leaving the school grounds.

Late Arrivals
Parents/Carers, if your student is late to school, please escort your student to the office to sign your child in and to obtain a Late Slip for them to give their teacher.

Communication with Parents/Carers
All letters and consent forms are emailed to parents. 
Information is also available to parents online:

• Pittsworth State School Website
• Our School Newsletter (emailed)
• Facebook
• SMS 
• Email

Email:  admin@pittsworthss.eq.edu.au

Community News

St Stephen's Parish Trivia Night - note change of venue.

Family and Child Connect

Family and Child Connect provides families free, unlimited and confidential advice. They can connect you to local services that help with: 

• building better family relationships
• managing child behaviour
• healthcare
• housing.

If your family is going through tough times, call them today at 13 FAMILY (13 32 64) or visit familychildconnect.org.au.

Beyond Blue

Phone: 1300 22 4636 (24 hours, 7 days a week).

Chat online: between 3pm–12am, 7 days a week via the online chat page External link.

Email: get a response within 24 hours via the email form External link.

Visit the Beyond Blue website External link for more information.

Bullying. No Way!

Bullying. No Way! External link is a great source of information for students, parents and teachers to learn about bullying, how to recognise it and what to do if you see or experience it.

headspace

headspace External link provides free online and telephone support and counselling for young people aged 12-25 and their families and friends.

Lifeline

Phone: 13 11 14 (24 hours, 7 days a week).
Chat online: between 8pm–4am, 7 days a week via the online chat page External link.

Visit the Lifeline website External link for more information.

Parentline

Phone: 1300 30 1300 (cost of a local call) 8am–10pm, 7 days a week.

Information: Tip sheets from a range of over 100 topics are available online External link.