What a fabulous time I have had as Deputy Principal at Gympie Special School!! At the start of Term 2, we will welcome Rachel Pelling back to her position as DP. It is not goodbye from me as I move into an alternative role at GSS. After the first two weeks relieving Sarah, I will be working two days a week with the Senior Secondary team developing programs and post-school pathways for our year 11  and 12 students; two days a week overseeing Student Services; and one day a week as the P4 classroom teacher.

A massive thanks to all the students, staff and families, who welcomed me into the GSS community and supported me in my role. I am very excited about continuing my work at GSS!

COMING UP….. Cross Country! If you’re looking for a great holiday activity, schedule in some time training for our school cross country! It’s a great opportunity to explore the various running tracks of Gympie and building in some essential movement into your daily routine. Be sure to take some pics of all the places you explore to share with your classroom teams when you return!

PBL News

Last week the PBL Team Leader, Andrew Stokes, and I spent the day down at Woody Point Special School meeting with other Special Schools to share our PBL practices. These days occur twice a year and are a great opportunity to learn from and share our knowledge with our colleagues.

PBL Rewards Activities: This Friday, our students take time to celebrate the great work and effort they put in to learning and demonstrating positive behaviour across our school. The Early Years will be participating in rotational activities and enjoying chicken nuggets for lunch. The Primary, Secondary and Senior Secondary students will be enjoying pizza and a movie. What a great way to end the term!

Specialised Health News

In Term 4 2022, we updated our processes on how we managed the Specialised Health needs of our students. A key element to the efficiency of this process is a quick turn-around when sending forms home for signatures. This ensures your child is being supported in the safest way possible.

Important points to remember:

• When a student is diagnosed with a specialised health need or medical condition, we will either ask you to sign a Nurse Referral Form and Consent to Share Information forms, or discuss the need for a specific Action Plan from your medical team;
• If a referral is required, our Education Qld Nurse will contact you and collaborate to develop a health plan. These plans are critical to ensure we as a school provide the appropriate support to your child. Staff undertake specialised health training as needed.
• Copies of the Health or Action Plans are shared with the classroom teams, uploaded onto One School, and stored within emergency folders for quick reference.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any queries.

Regards,

Chrissie