THANK YOU: As we approach the school holidays, I would like to thank families for being so supportive this term. Thank you, parents and caregivers, for keeping your child home whenever they have been unwell. It has certainly been a challenging term with high numbers of student and staff sickness. We have had to combine classes at times, when we have not been able to replace staff. Our students have managed these changes very well and I thank our staff for their flexibility and resilience during these challenging times.

INFLUENZA:  We are starting to see more cases of illness unrelated to Covid-19, such as the flu. The flu is highly contagious and can be serious. The Queensland Government is offering free vaccinations to all Queenslanders over 6 months of age.

Vaccination and practising good hand and respiratory hygiene is your best defence against the spread of the flu.

To protect yourself and those around you, here are 7 easy steps to help fight the flu:

• Get a flu shot every year
• If you are unwell, stay at home and avoid contact with others
• Wash your hands often and properly with soap and water, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser
• Cover your cough and sneezes with a tissue or a flexed elbow. Throw your tissues away immediately and wash your hands afterwards
• Try to stay 1.5 metres away from anyone who coughs and sneezes
• Clean frequently touched surfaces regularly with soap and water or detergent
• Don’t share items such as cups, glasses, cutlery, lip balm, toys or anything which has come into contact with the mouth or nose.

SPORTS DAY: Sports day is Friday 15^th July, the first week back after the holidays.

Students have been working with Coach Tim to prepare for our annual Sports Day. Please come along on the day and cheer your student on. We now have 3 Sports Houses: Mari which is Gubbi Gubbi for Kangaroo and the colour for this house is RED;  Dala which is Gubbi Gubbi for Mary River Lungfish and the colour for this house is BLUE, Gigum which is Gubbi Gubbi for  Cockatoo and the colour for this house is GREEN. 

STAFFING NEWS:

• Alison Huth is retiring! Alison has been a teacher at Gympie Special School since September 2014. She has had a long successful career in education, becoming a teacher in 1984. Alison will be taking Semester 2 off on leave and then formally retiring. We wish Alison all the best for a relaxing, fun and happy retirement.
• We are also farewelling Judith Taylor, one of our terrific teacher aides, who has accepted a position in the private sector. Judith is an excellent aide, whose professionalism and commitment will be missed. We wish her all the best in her new role.
• Our Deputy Principal, Rachael Pelling has accepted a 6-month position at James Nash State High School for Semester 2, 2022. We wish Rachael all the best in her new position there and look forward to welcoming her back to Gympie Special at the start of 2023.
• We welcome Chrissie Hansen to our school next semester as our Deputy Principal. Chrissie is a very experienced Special School Deputy Principal who comes to us with a wealth of knowledge. Chrissie is looking forward to meeting and supporting students, families and staff at Gympie Special.

REPORT CARDS: Report cards are currently being written, following class assessments being completed. Report Cards will be emailed to families at the end of week 1, Term 3 by Friday 15^th July. If any parents would like a parent teacher interview, these can be arranged as part of the Semester 2 ICP meetings for those students in Years P to 10 or as a separate meeting for Years 11 and 12.

SCHOOL OPINION SURVEY: The annual suite of School Opinion Surveys will be conducted in Term 3 and will close on 12 August 2022. All families, school staff and students in target year levels (5, 6, 8 and 11) will be invited to participate. We encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say about what our school does well, and how we can improve.

An invitation to complete the Parent/Caregiver Survey will be emailed to one parent/caregiver per family in the week beginning 11 July.  The invitation will be sent from the Department of Education, not the school, and it will have the subject line School Opinion Survey for parents and caregivers, 2022.  Check your junk email folders if you can’t find it.  The survey can be completed as soon as the invitation is received and will take approximately 5 minutes using a computer, tablet or smart phone. 

Parents/caregivers who do not have access to the internet at home are welcome to complete their survey online at the school. School computers/tablets will be available.

YEAR 12 GRADUATION:

The last day for Year 12 is Friday 18^th November. We will be holding a graduation ceremony in our Performing Arts Room on Friday 18^th December from 9.30am, followed by a morning tea for our graduating students and their families. The Year 12 Formal Graduation Dinner event will be held during that week also and the date and venue for this event will be announced early next term as we work with our Year 12 students to plan their graduation.