Week 3 Term 3, 2019

Dear Parents / Caregivers

Term 3 is well under way and school is full of exciting happenings. The term has started well and I am really enjoying being back and getting back into this amazing school of ours.

Pauline Jansen, Tony Mabin, Kylie Murcott and team

Thank you to Pauline and the team for doing such a wonderful job while I have been away during term 2. It is a real credit to them for the way they kept the school running so smoothly during this time. Great work places should be places where everyone gets a chance to step up and grow. This has certainly happened during term 2 and it’s great to see that Pauline has been given a further school leadership opportunity to be Acting Principal at Tai Tapu School for term 3. Congratulations to Pauline for this. Kylie Murcott is Acting Deputy Principal during this time.

International Students

Term 3 started by welcoming 20 students and 2 teachers from Tsinglan School, China. They have settled in well to their homestays and they are enjoying their time with us. This week is their final week with us.

Last week we had a group of 26 students and 3 teachers from Ningbo, China. This has been, as a result of a partnership that we established with this school from last year. We really enjoyed their time with us and we felt quite sad as we farewelled them on Friday. We also have other smaller groups visiting us during this month.

During this time our children have been outstanding with the way they have welcomed our international visitors and in the way they have interacted with them along the way. We can be really proud of our QPS children for this. Thank you to all our home stay stay parents for the way you have looked after and supported these children from China. We hope that you have enjoyed this experience as well.

PANDA CAMP - GYAP - BEIJING CHINA

At the end of the holiday period we welcomed back 18 students (Year 7 & 8) and 4 staff who had attended the GYAP (Global Youth Ambassador Project) Panda Camp in Bejing, China. They had been away for 11 days and had a wonderful experience being immersed in Chinese culture, schooling, family life and of course a few touristic outings including visiting the Great Wall of China. What a unique opportunity this has been. Our children have grown through this experience and have many stories to tell.

Playing at School - during after school, evenings and in the weekends

We have had some incidents recently where our children have been playing at our school during these times and have been bullied and abused by non law abiding youths. Property has been taken also during these times including scooters and bikes. I would encourage parents not to send your children down to play at these times due risk and safety concerns. The local Police are aware and they are monitoring our school closely.

Winter Tournament

All the best to the children who are taking part in this sporting event today.

Have a great week everyone

Ross Willocks

Principal