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- News of the Week
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- Important Dates
- Are you looking to volunteer at Tinana State School in 2025?
- Gotcha Keys
- QParents
- SRS
- Chappy Chat
- Prep Families
- Thank you Rotary Club
- Uniform Shop
- Tuckshop
- 150 Years of Tinana State School
- Helping Hands News
- Community News
It is a pleasure to welcome everyone to the 2025 school year at Tinana SS and say thank you to staff and parents/carers for the collective effort to prepare students for a great start. I want to share some important reminders and updates to ensure a smooth and successful year for everyone. The remainder of the newsletter contains other important information about our school routines and programs for the year.
This Thursday all state school complete the 2025 enrolment census. We have welcome approximately 20 new students across years 1-6. After that our class formation will be reviewed and parents/carers will be contacted if their student is considered as part of this planning.
Before and After School Routines
This week the new before school transition time commenced with students being dismissed from the Junior Covered Play Area after the 8.35am bell. Students can go to the toilet and fill drink bottles before this bell or on their transition to class so that they are ready to start the day when classrooms doors open at 8.40. Students who are on site before 8am are either: being signed in to Helping Hands, attending Instrumental Music rehearsal, or attending tennis coaching when it starts.
Every Day Counts
Being on time and being prepared for school is crucial for students developing confidence and organisation. Students having age-appropriate responsibilities for their schools things helps develop executive function in the brain (this is the part that helps us organise our lives).
Absences
Sometimes illness means students need to be away from school. In addition to the absence line, QParents users can submit absences through the App. Also included in this newsletter is the timeout details of how long community members should stay away from school for various illness and infectious periods.
Community Contribution: Student Success
We greatly value the support of our parents and carers. Volunteering is a wonderful way to get involved and make a positive impact and students love seeing Mum, Dad, Grandma or Grandpa helping out at school. Whether it's helping in the classroom, organizing events, or assisting with extracurricular activities, your contributions are always appreciated. Please see later in this newsletter for details on the volunteers training that is conducted each semester.
150th Planning & Preparations
There is a planning meeting this Friday at 9.30 in the library. All welcome. If you cannot attend but would like to assist with preparations please email events@tinanass.eq.edu.au with your name, connection to school ( current parent, past student, past staff) and best availability.
Thank you for your cooperation and support. We look forward to a fantastic school year filled with learning, growth, and memorable experiences!
Janet Austen
Principal
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MONEY COMING TO SCHOOL
Would parents please ensure that any money sent to school for any purposes other than tuckshop is sent directly to the office and is placed in an envelope with student’s name, grade and particular item or excursion they are paying for, clearly marked on the front of envelope. Pre-printed envelopes are available at the office for any payments. Parents that prefer to deposit the funds directly into the school bank account are requested to advise the office of the deposit and to use the student surname and invoice number as the payment reference. As large amounts of money pass through the school office it becomes difficult and time consuming to identify payments without this information.
Invoices via Email
You should now be receiving all your child’s invoices via email. If you need to provide the office with an updated email address, please do so as soon as possible, as some school notes and information will also be sent via email.
REFLECTION LETTERS are also being sent out via e-mail.
ABSENCES
Please Phone 4120 8066 and leave a message on the Absence Line in the event of a student being absent. Please phone each day your child is absent from school unless the office has been previously advised of the absence. Verbal messages by the student are not sufficient. This prevents any misunderstanding and ensures the safety of your child. Please note that, by law, we are required to report any long term unexplained absences from school which may then be investigated by the police.
LATE ARRIVAL
The school day begins at 8:45am and all staff will begin instruction at this time. Arrivals after 8:45am are considered to be late. Late arrival should be accompanied by a note but parents may ring the office with this information. Students must first report to the office to obtain a late slip that is to be given to their teacher.
EARLY ARRIVALS
Please be aware that there are NO staff members on duty before 8 am. We have more students arriving before this time. If there is a legitimate reason for students to be at school before 8am, then contact the office to make arrangements. These students must then follow the rules by sitting quietly at the far end of the Administration Building.
SMS NOTIFICATION
The school is now utilising an SMS system to notify parents of any unexplained absence. If you receive a text message stating your child’s absence is unexplained, you can reply via text, stating your child’s name, and reason for absence. If you believe your child should be present at school, please phone the office immediately on 4120 8000.
EARLY DEPARTURE
Children leaving school early must be picked up from the office. Parents may ring in advance to arrange for their child/ren to be ready for collection, or send a note to the class teacher. Your child will be given an early departure slip from the office. Please minimise disruptions to teaching and learning by organising early departures in advance and for break times.
The safety and wellbeing of students are the highest priorities for the Department of Education and for the Queensland Government.
At Tinana State School we endeavour to contact a parent or carer via text message when a student's absence is unexplained after the first roll marking of the day.
As home and school work together, student safety will be increased. Here are some guidelines to make this process more efficient:
- Notify the school by phone, QParents or email before 9:00am if your student is going to be absent that day. Please give a brief explanation for the absence.
- If you receive a text message regarding an unexplained absence, please respond promptly, either via text, QParents or phone call.
- Please ensure that your mobile phone number and other contact details are up-to-date on the school records. This is critical, as we need to be able to contact you in case of emergency.
- If your student arrives late to school, they must go to the office for a late pass before going to their classroom. If they are leaving early, a leave pass must be obtained from the office.
- Monday 3rd February - Chess Club 11:15am Y's 1-6,
- Before school Running Club commences M/T/Th/F
- New Before School Transition Time - Classroom doors open 8:40am
- Tuesday 4th February - Senior Performance Team Rehearsal commence – 11.15am Y3-6
- Thursday 6th February - Term 1 Swimming Commences - 5M & 5K students must be at School by 8:30 to get ready for departure.
- 2pm House Captain Speeches & voting for Y4 -6 students. Parents Welcome.
- Chappell - Senior Covered Play Area
- Laver - 3/4 Eating Area
- Wickham - Junior Covered Play Area
- Friday 7th February - 4-6 Parade
- 9.30 am Community 150th meeting @ Library ( 1st Friday of
the month).
- 9.30 am Community 150th meeting @ Library ( 1st Friday of
- Thursday 13th February - Volunteers – Annual Mandatory Training 2pm
- Friday 14th February - P-3 Parade
- Week 3 - Concert Band Lessons commence
- Friday 21st February - Student Leader Induction Parade
Dear School Community,
Are you looking to volunteer at Tinana State School in 2025? Volunteers, contractors, preservice teachers and other adult students on placements need to complete the Department’s Mandatory All Staff Training Key Messages Guide. This training will be held at school on Thursday 13th of February at 2pm. Please RSVP to Admin@tinanass.eq.edu.au by Tuesday 11th of February.
Winners of the Gotcha Keys for week 1
| Student | Class |
| Blake | 2 P/J |
| Tyson | 2 P/J |
| Kase | 3 S |
| Archer | 3/4 GA |
| Tyson | 3/4 A |
| Ayla | 3/4 GA |
| Hudson | 4 D |
| Emma | 4 D |
Have you signed up for QParents!?
Have you received your invoice for your SRS (Maths workbook & paper)?
WELCOME to our new families
Thank you for choosing our school community. It is a fantastic community to belong to and is comprised of individuals from different walks of life, all coming together to work towards excellence in education for our students. We have a brilliant and dedicated staff who are led by strong leadership. Our P&C is an awesome cross section of our school community and are always looking to include new families in their endeavors. I strongly recommend jumping in, boots and all.
CHAPPY ROLE
If you are new to our school, I am your school Chappy. My name is Amanda Waterson and I will be working Fridays this term and have taken leave each Monday. I will be running lunch time activities this term (You Can Do It Club in the school hall), I work with students (with parent permission) on social/emotional issues. I am often seen assisting with extra-curricular events. I love my job and look forward to my 18th year as the Tinana SS Chappy- I see my role as an honor and a privilege.
WHEN AM I AT TINANA?
My week looks like this if you need to contact me for any reason:
Monday- launching a new community Playgroup – Play at the Powerhouse
Tuesday - Thursday– MSHS 4120 9333
Friday – Tinana SS 4120 8000
You can find my room at the top of the A Block Ramp. Feel free to drop in and introduce yourself to me when I am at school
KINDNESS IS COOL AT TINANA STATE SCHOOL
We have a culture of kindness in our Tinana State School community. Each week classes will receive a Kindness Challenge.
Our challenge this week is to introduce ourselves to someone new. To accomplish this challenge, students will need to use our first key to success, which is confidence. I would encourage everyone in our school community – adults included- to introduce yourself to someone new.
There is a second part to this challenge that may seem a little more challenging. The next step is to find something you share in common with your new conversational partner. It’s so easy in life to focus on our differences, but if we look a little closer, I am sure we can find things we have in common.
I would like to leave you with a link to a video that the Wellbeing staff at my high school showed to our year 7 classes this week. It’s a 3 minute video explaining the importance of being kind. Perhaps you can show it to your children and explore some things you noticed or some things that stood out to you and your family.
Some tips for parents in those first few weeks of school.
My children have long left school (as students – one of them is now a teacher), but I long remember the struggles that some parents face around school issues. My door is always open, I don’t have all the answers, but I am here to listen. Some questions you might find helpful to ask your child/ren after school (rather than how was your day?):
- What made you smile today?
- Tell me something good that happened today.
- Which subject did you find more interesting?
- Can you tell me an example of kindness you saw or showed?
- Was there an example of unkindness? How did you respond?
- What was the book about that your teacher read?
NEW COMMUNITY PLAYGROUP
PLAY AT THE POWERHOUSE.
Before working as a school chaplain, I worked in both the Education and Health Departments as well as in private practice as a Speech Language Pathologist. In this role, I facilitated early intervention playgroups and loved working with both parents and children alike. I am taking Mondays off this term to start a community playgroup at the Powerhouse. This group will use themed activities each week to help develop language skills, social skills and motor skills.
I hope it will be great support to parents of young children as well as a heap of educative fun. I would love to hear from you if you are interested in connecting in. Details are below:
Play at the Powerhouse
Day: Monday mornings starting February 10.
Time: 9:30 for a 9:45 start – 11:00
Place: Powerhouse Community Centre (Corner of Kent and Tooley Streets)
Cost: FREE
BYO: Morning tea.
For more information: Please email me at: amanda.waterson@suchaplaincy.org.au
Have a wonderful week and remember: every day counts.
Thank you to Rotary Club of Maryborough - Sunrise for donations of bags and school supplies.
Rotary clubs are one of the ways communities help students
#doyourbest. #tinana #maryboroughqld
Uniform shop hours 2025
please note- Red Polos order did not arrived in time for 2025 Thank you to everyone who has been supportive and understanding with this delay. 
Happy 2025, another Tuckshop year starts. This year is shaping to be a big year for the School and for Tuckshop with a fit out happening this year for the tuckshop. There are new menu ideas for when the refit is complete, but as always, it depends on Volunteers. We just had an Information morning in the tuckshop and have a few more people that have put there hand up to help (thank you so much ladies), but we still need more. I have been reading about other tuckshops all over Qld and the amount that a closing is disappointing, I don't want ours to become another statistic. If you are interested in helping us out (does not have to be a full day) please let me know or pop in and see me.
As the new volunteers are learning the ropes and we are still short on helpers, we will be running a modified menu to ensure we get the food out to the kids on time. As things improve, the menu will go back to normal, please see Qkr for menu changes and please be patient.
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