Open Day 18 May 10am to 2pm

Open Day is almost upon us and I am really looking forward to the event. Each year I am hugely impressed by the hard work and dedication of our students and staff which make this such a great event. We always have lots of positive feedback from visitors about Open Day but what they mention the most are our students.
Our students are the stars of Open Day. Whether it is serving a Devonshire Tea with a smile, being an enthusiastic tour guide, greeting visitors as they arrive or participating in one of the many performances, our students are the stand out success of our Open Day.

I am very aware that it is thanks to you as parents that help our students shine. I really appreciate the time you take out of your Saturday to bring your children to College in their full uniform so they are in time to perform their various duties.

One of our guiding principles as a College is to work in partnership with our parents and Open Day is a key time when this partnership evident. I also want to take this time to thank all the parents helping with the P and F barbecue. This is hugely successful in feeding hungry staff, students and visitors while raising money for the school at the same time. It is also a great opportunity for prospective parents to chat with our College families.

The Open Day timed events were in the last newsletter but I am repeating them here so it is easier for you to access:

PROGRAM FOR OPEN DAY SATURDAY 18 MAY 10AM – 2PM
Time	Item	Venue
10.20 -10.40	GCCC Choir	Theatre
10.50-11.00am	Primary Band	Theatre
11.00-11.20am	Cheerleading Demonstration	Outside library on grass
11.30-11.40am	Concert Band	Theatre
11.45am	Storytelling	Library
11.45am	String Ensemble	Theatre
12.00-12.15pm	Dance Performance	Outside library on grass
12.30-12.40pm	Vocal Group	Theatre
12.45pm	Storytelling	Library
1.00-2.00pm	The Big Science Show	Theatre

No Nuts Please

This is literally a life and death matter for some of our students so please do not allow your children to bring any nuts or nut products to the College. Recently, another pile of nuts was found on the school grounds so I cannot stress the importance of this policy enough.

Royal Show Holiday not a holiday for GCCC

In previous years GCCC and other Sunshine Coast schools have used the Brisbane Royal Show holiday as a pupil free day. This is no longer the case and now the day (Wednesday 14 August 2013) is just a normal school day for us. Although schools and businesses in the Brisbane area have this day off as a public holiday, our local show day is Friday 31 May.

Our original calendar did incorrectly show the 14 August as a pupil free day but it has since been corrected on our website.

NAPLAN 14 to 16 May

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual national assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. All students in these year levels are expected to participate in tests in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (i.e. spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy. Children in these year levels have been undergoing a comprehensive NAPLAN preparation program that looks at, amongst other things, test-taking skills, question familiarity and refreshment of previous learning.

Sometimes we are asked the question, “What if I do not want my son/daughter to do the NAPLAN test?” This may be because the child already experiences learning difficulties and the probability of achieving a poor result on the test is high. The diagnostic value of the test may then be eroded by the damage caused to the child’s self esteem-another reminder that success at school does not come easily to them.

If you would prefer your son/daughter did not do the test then please inform the College and make arrangements to keep your child at home for the NAPLAN days.

These tests provide parents and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests. NAPLAN does not replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by teachers about each student’s performance. 

P and F Trivia Night

I’m sure Alaina will have more information in the P and F article later on in the newsletter but I wanted to remind everyone to keep Saturday 15 June free for the P and F Trivia Night. Last year this was such a huge success that it is now an annual event. The official invitation with all the information is on the website so start looking for your team of eight.

Congratulations to Mick Spann 

Congratulations to Mick and his wife Anne on the arrival of a beautiful baby girl. Our Chappy Mick is now the proud father of Alayna Liora Spann who was born Monday 6 May at 6.43am weighing 3.8kg (8.46 pounds) and measuring 50cm long.

Mike Curtis, Principal