School Newsletter - Term 1 Week 1 - 2023

Principal's News

Welcome to 2023 at Rangeville State School. Welcome to our new families who are joining the Rangeville Family for the first time this year. The start of school this year has been extremely smooth for all, and we thank our families for their efforts in ensuring each and every child has the resources to ensure success in 2023. We are so proud of each of our students and their achievements, and we are looking forward to working together as they Learn, Achieve and Grow, every day in 2023!

Prep Welcome BBQ

Thank you to our new and existing families who joined us on Monday afternoon to celebrate their child’s first day of school. This opportunity to meet and mingle with other new families and their class teacher and teacher aide was a very positive opportunity for all.

Australia Day Awards 2023

Congratulations to our very own Mr Matthew Henry, who received the Toowoomba Regional Council, Australia Day, Toowoomba Cultural Award for promoting the welfare and wellbeing of the local community and providing a positive role model for others. Congratulations Mr Henry, we are so proud of you and everything you do for our students, staff and community. Thank you.

Student Enrolment Numbers

Today we entered our student enrolment numbers of 726 students. These numbers will see the current class structure remain in place without any disruption. 

New School Entrance

Over the holidays, we have been able to add a new school entrance pathway from the traffic lights on High and South Streets to the music block and covered walkways. This will allow our students who are accessing the traffic lights and surrounding parking spaces a safe entrance into our school. The pedestrian gate into the music car park is now permanently locked and access through the music car park is forbidden.

Communication

Rangeville State School has various communication modes that are utilised to communicate to parents and families. These include our fortnightly school newsletter, school calendar, school website, school email, school text messages, school notes, school phone calls and the P&C Facebook page.

Our 2023 School Calendar is our acuate communication tool for upcoming events. These should have been received by our eldest in the family students during the last two days. The dates and events are locked in and unless things occur outside of our control will remain scheduled as advertised.

Our fortnightly Schoolzine E-Newsletter is distributed to families provides accurate details on past and upcoming events.

The P&C Facebook is run by volunteers who are part of our P&C committee. This is a fast mechanism for updating and advertising information for families at short notice related to school and P&C matters.

QParents is our departmental, user-friendly portal accessible to our families via app or web browser, providing parents with secure online access to information about their child’s schooling. It provides parents with access to information about:

• Attendance details
• Report Cards and assessments
• Invoices and payment history

QParents is also moving this year to becoming an electronic platform for allowing families to provide electronic permission for certain excursions and school-based activities. It is strongly recommended that families join QParents for ease and convenience.

The school will also email or text families using the contact details of the main parent/caregiver listed on the enrolment form. Texts and emails are sent to families communicating important information or updates on excursions at short notice.

We are very proud of our home-school relationships and work hard to maintain effective and positive relations with all to ensure the best possible education can be achieved for all of our children. Your class teacher is the first point of contact for any questions, concerns or issues regarding your child. If you wish to raise any concern that may require time to address, please arrange a mutually convenient appointment with your class teacher. Appointments can be arranged through the office or face to face with your teacher.

Social Media, please be mindful, that a staff members social media platforms are private. If families have a concern or question that pertains to their child or a school matter, please contact your teacher via the school office or at their classroom. Please refrain from messaging them via their private social media platforms.

Calendar of Events

Positive Behaviour for Learning at Rangeville SS

We are safe, respectful learners! 

The Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) Framework encourages the Rangeville community to learn together in a safe and respectful environment. The purpose of our Positive Behaviours for Learning is to help students learn how to be successful and positive contributors to our school and community. Through deliberately designed learning sequences and clear expectations (rules), students learn to value and acknowledge themselves and others and are happy members of our school community.

Our PBL expectations are:

• Be SAFE
• Be RESPECTFUL
• Be a LEARNER

We ask that families help us to maintain a safe environment before school by discussing the 'Before School Expectations' and reminding students before coming to school about how to be safely in the right place at the right time. 

2023 School Map

Estimated School Costs for 2023

To support our families with cost of living and budgeting preparations for the new school year, we have included our estimated school costs for 2023.

2023 School Calendar

School Zone Safety

With school back, it's a timely reminder to drivers to slow down in school zones and pay attention at children’s crossings.

Coming back after holidays it can be easy to forget what to look out for. School zone signs are displayed as you approach the school and shows both the speed limit and the times you need to reduce your speed around the school. Childrens' crossing are identified by children crossing flags, which are displayed near crossings before and after school hours.

When the crossing is supervised, you as a motorist must:

• wait until all pedestrians, bicycle or personal mobility device riders have crossed the road and the crossing supervisor has returned to the footpath
• abide by the direction given by the School Crossing Supervisor.

If the crossing is unsupervised, you as a motorist must:

• give way to pedestrians, bicycle or personal mobility device riders on or entering a children’s, pedestrian or marked foot crossings
• give way to pedestrians, bicycle or personal mobility device riders on or entering a road you’re turning into
• give way to pedestrians, bicycle or personal mobility device riders on a slip lane
• give way to pedestrians in a share zone
• travel at a speed allowing you to stop safely at a crossing if needed

As a driver, it's important to make sure you give way to all pedestrians, bicycle or personal mobility device riders such as skateboards, e-scooters. You must also give way to pedestrians using a motorised mobility device such as a motorised wheelchair or a mobility scooter.

Some of our most vulnerable road users are children getting to and from school, so it’s important to slow down and abide by the crossing rules, as it won’t make much difference to the trip time, but it could very well save lives.

Visit the Street Smarts website to find more information about what to do at pedestrian and children crossings.

Public Transport for Toowoomba - Bus Queensland

Translink has announced changes are coming to the Toowoomba bus network.

On Monday 16 January 2023, Translink introduced a consistent and simplified fare and zone structure. As part of the changes, school transport fares will be aligned to zone-based fares. 

In Toowoomba, while the one-zone fare will remain $2.40 (adult) and $1.20 (concession), Translink will introduce a consistent zonal fare increment of $0.60 (adult) adult and $0.30 (concession).

The number of zones will be reduced from 11 to seven, meaning the majority of customers can travel further on the urban bus network for less.

Information on the fare and zone changes to Toowoomba’s urban bus network, including the updated network map, is available at www.translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares or by contacting Translink’s 24/7 call centre on 13 12 30.

Route numbers on several Bus Queensland school services will also change ahead of back-to-school 2023 to align with Translink's consistent state-wide three-digit numbering.

The changes are as below:

If you have questions about any changes to school services, please contact Bus Queensland direct:

Bus Queensland 
(07) 3288 1333 
customers@busqld.com.au 

All changes are being introduced to the Toowoomba urban bus network in preparation for the future rollout of Smart Ticketing.

Kind regards,

Translink Regional Refresh Program

Term 1 Swimming

Guidance Officer News

Please see the attached article regarding starting school, courtesy of our Guidance Officer, Melissa Pappin.

Chess Lessons

We are off to a great start to the year and the chess lessons for term one are now full. If you would like your child to go on the waiting list, please email Mrs Prue Cunningham at pcunn1@eq.edu.au.  

The annual Toowoomba District Primary School Individual Chess Championship is coming up.  

Date: Tuesday 7 March 2023 
Start Time: 8.30am arrival with a 9.00am (Sharp) start 
Finish Time:  Approximately 4.00pm 
Venue: Highlands Christian College – Multi-Purpose Centre 
Entry: $20.00 per student 

Rangeville will have a teacher at the championship to supervise students. If your child is keen to compete, please email Mrs Prue Cunningham. Transport will need to be provided to and from the event. 

Student Medication

As of the start of Term 1 2023, all medication (including asthma puffers) are required to be stored in the office and administered to the student at the office when needed, unless there are exceptional circumstances, which require approval from our HOSES, Julie Franklin. You will be asked to complete a new Consent to Administer Medication Form when you handover medications this term. You are welcome to fill in the form at the office or find it below.

QParents

QParents  is a secure, online portal that has been created by the Department of Education to provide parents of Queensland state school students with 24-hour access to their child's information. The portal allows you to securely access information about your child and communicate directly with your child's school.

QParents provides secure, online access to student information such as:

• attendance details
• consent forms
• payment of invoices
• payment history
• behaviour
• report cards and assessment dates
• upcoming events
• timetables
• student photo

We encourage you to register for QParents. To do this, simply express your interest by emailing mllew16@eq.edu.au or by phoning 4617 733 and Mrs Llewellyn will email you an invitation to register (which includes your log-in code) and your childs unique EQID. Please see the attached factsheet for more information.

Licence Plate Recognition Vehicle - School Patrols

The Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) receives calls from concerned residents and parents regarding unlawful and dangerous parking habits of drivers at various schools in our region. We have been notified that the TRC have purchased a Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) vehicle to enforce safe and lawful parking around schools in our region. This vehicle is equipped to take images of a vehicle parked dangerously or unlawfully simply by driving past the location. TRC will commence regular patrols around our school using the LPR vehicle. We understand parking is limited in peak times however we encourage you to please be mindful of the driveways of our residents around the school. For more information please see the attached fact sheet. 

Rangeville State School P&C Association

Next Meeting

Our first meeting in 2023 will be on Tuesday 14^th February 2023 at 6:30pm in the Resource Room. Membeship forms will be available on the night. We hope you can join us. 

The AGM is March 14^th 2023 at 6 pm. 

Membership forms are available from the website www.rsspandc.com.au or email us at secretary@rangevillestateschoolpandc.onmicrosoft.com and one will be forwarded to you. 

If you are interested in becoming an Executive of the P&C for 2023, the nomination forms are on the website also, or again please email us and we will forward it to you. 

All executive positions are declared open and you can nominate for a position.

New to Rangeville? A warm welcome is extended to our new families. We have a very active and involved P&C here at Rangeville State School. We would love to meet you and have a chat about the many different ways you can be involved and how we can assist you and your family in your school journey.

Please see our P&C website www.rsspandc.com.au for more details around our businesses and helpful information for families.

P&C is Cashless

The P&C wishes to thank all families for supporting us in going cashless. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the P&C Executive directly via email.

Contact details  

P&C Committee:

president@rangevillestateschoolpandc.onmicrosoft.com

treasurer@rangevillestateschoolpandc.onmicrosoft.com

vicepresident2@rangevillestateschoolpandc.onmicrosoft.com

secretary@rangevillestateschoolpandc.onmicrosoft.com

vicepresident1@rangevillestateschoolpandc.onmicrosoft.com

Phone P&C  and Ops office: 07 4617 7354 

P&C Facebook page - Rangeville State School P&C

Did you know that we have a Facebook page? We would love you to follow us so that you can hear all about what's happening around Rangeville State School.

https://www.facebook.com/rangevillepc

Fundraising News

Our 2023 fundraising events are being discussed at our next general meeting. If you have an idea and would like to run an event please come along to our next general meeting in February. 

Show this digital card for the P&C to get great rewards and in turn help raise funds for our community! 

Volunteers

The P&C would like to express our gratitude to all of our current volunteers for their dedication and contributions. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. We are eager to expand our volunteer team this year and welcome new members to join us. If you are new to the school and interested in volunteering, we invite you to come and visit us. There are many ways to get involved and make a difference, and we would love the opportunity to meet you. If you would like to learn more about volunteering opportunities, please don't hesitate to reach out to us via the email listed above.

Tuckshop News

Calling all volunteers! The school community would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our dedicated volunteers who assisted in the Tuck shop last year. As we look ahead to 2023, we are seeking new volunteers to join our team. If you are interested in lending a hand, please reach out to us. Also, please check out our new menu below. For those who are new to Flexischools and need help navigating the system, please click the link provided for further instructions.

Flexischools Instructions

Uniform Shop

2023 Operating Hours

If you are interested in volunteering in the uniform shop, please contact us via the P&C Facebook page or phone Nicky on (07) 4617 7333.

Lost Property

We understand that personal items are misplaced at school from time to time. To help with this, we have a designated Lost and Found area located near the Uniform Shop. Please check there if your child has lost any items. More valuable items such as glasses and watches are held at the administration office. To ensure quick and easy return of lost items, we encourage you to clearly label them with your child's name. At the end of each term, any remaining items will be gathered and removed. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. Thank you for your cooperation.

Rangeville State School P&C Association Outside School Hours Care (ROSHC)

We would like to extend a warm welcome to all new families and children joining our school in Term 1 of 2023, as well as a warm welcome back to our returning families and children.

At Rangeville Out of School Hours Care (ROSHC), we strive to provide a fun and engaging environment for children to enjoy during their out of school hours.

The recent vacation care program offered by Rangeville Out of School Hours Care (ROSHC) was a great success, with children participating in a diverse range of activities and experiences. We went to the movies and had a great time doing activities based on the movie themes. Educators organised some incursions, our first one was Bunnings where the children got involved in Christmas activities. Next we had Sea Life where the children learnt all about different sea creatures and the purpose they serve in the ocean. Children were fascinated and really involved in the conversations and the hands-on experience. They all showed amazing listening and communication with the Sea Life Educator Tracy. We then had a more active incursion with Dusty from Dream Time Games that got the children up and moving playing Kungirruna - a running and leaping gaming from South Australia, Gerri - throwing gaming from Central Australia, Tambil Tambil - throwing and dodging game from South East QLD and Kalkadoon Keean- throwing game from North West QLD. Dusty spoke a lot about the traditional and cultural practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Additional planned activities included water bomb games, slip and slide, slime creations, glow in the dark playdough, a variety of craft and gardening activities and so much more!

If you're interested in learning more about ROSHC, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at roshc@rangevilless.eq.edu.au and we'll be more than happy to send you all the information you need and guide you through the enrolment process. We're already planning for the next vacation care program in April and would love to hear any ideas or suggestions you may have for activities. Please feel free to stop by the ROSHC office to chat with us.

We are looking forward to another great year at ROSHC!

ROSHC Vacation Care

Have your details changed over the holiday?

Please email admin@rangevilless.eq.edu.au or phone 4617 7333 to let us know if your contact details (email address, mobile number or home address), family circumstances, work place or emergency contacts have recently changed so that we can update your details.

News from the Community

Please note that although the following notices may be included in the school’s Newsletter, they are published in good faith and do not necessarily have the school’s endorsement.