Tuesday 14 - Thursday 16 February
Year 5 Moke Lake Camp

Monday 20 February
Touch Rugby Starts

Tuesday 21 February
Year 5- 8 School Athletics at the Events Centre

Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 February
Goal Setting Interviews for Years 2, 4, 6  and 8

Monday 27 February - Wednesday 8 March
Year 7 & 8 Glendhu Bay Camp
Rooms 30 and 31; 27 Feb - 1 March
Rooms 32 and 33; 1 - 3 March
Rooms 34 and 35; 6 - 8 March

Wednesday 15 - Thursday 16 March
Year 3 Kelvin Heights Camp

Monday 20 March
Otago Anniversary - School Closed

Tuesday 21 March
Year 5 - 8 Wakatipu Zone Athletics Champs

Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 March
School Photos

Wednesday 29 March
COPSSA Athletic Champs

Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 March
Goal Setting Interviews for Years 1, 3, 5 and 7

Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 April
Education Outside the Classroom - House Days

Thursday 6 April
Last Day Term 1

Structured Literacy at QPS 

Structured Literacy is an evidence-based approach which is grounded in the Science of Reading. We continue to partner with Learning Matters to deliver Structured Literacy to all students at Queenstown Primary School. We are now in the fourth year of teaching Structured Literacy and classroom teachers explicitly and confidently teach Structured Literacy as directed by the Literacy Curriculum.

The findings from the Science of Reading have taught us some very important lessons that we cannot ignore. This body of research findings has been a welcomed addition to the education sector.

Key takeaways from the Science of Reading include: 

• Reading is not a natural process. We previously believed learning to read is like learning to speak

• We now know the skills that good readers implement and the associated parts of the brain that are involved in the reading process

• Likewise we know what aspects we should assess and teach to students who are not progressing in reading and spelling

• We now know that all brains learn to read in the same way and that these areas of the brain can be taught and developed

• A structured literacy approach to learning to read and spell is necessary for all and crucial for some

• A structured Literacy approach is the most efficient teaching and learning approach for dyslexic children and those with reading difficulties

• The teaching of spelling in a systematic and explicit way will enable students to be both capable readers and writers

• In time we will be using decodable texts (as we are resourced) in junior classrooms and with older catch-up readers. 

We have gained a greater understanding of Dyslexia. 

Dyslexia and the Brain

At QPS we encourage reading at home. Teachers do not set Home Learning tasks however occasionally you may see some of these resources outlined in the video come home.

Spelling and Reading

Junior students will bring home 2 decodable readers each week and these are books explicitly written to allow the students to practice concepts being taught in the classroom.

We strongly encourage parents to read to their children every night. Your child will bring home 2 books from our school Library each week. Please take time to share these with them along with visits to our community Libraries..

Mrs Julia Morum is now a Librarian at the Frankton Library and I know she would love to see QPS students and their families visiting there.

Recent research has shown that reading to and with your child until they actually tell you not to, is not only a special time but vital for their emotional and academic intelligence.

Supporting new learning with the correct articulation of the consonant and vowel sounds is vital and parents may help their children with this.

The video below is Carla McNeil demonstrating correct sound articulation  

Sound Articulation

This is a prompt card that parents may find useful when reading with beginning readers. 

At Queenstown Primary School students from Year 3 upwards, who are needing additional support, are given intervention. This is time with a Specialist Teacher and in small groups.

This year teachers will also be focusing on the transference of the taught Spelling concepts being used correctly and confidently in Writing.

Research tells us that if handwriting and spelling are not fluent and require considerable effort, students can not focus on higher-level composing skills in their writing tasks. 

Any parents seeking more information please contact

Julie Walker

juliew@queenstown.school. nz

ICAS 2023

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are delighted to inform you that Queenstown Primary School will be participating in the world-renowned ICAS AssessmentsTM this year.

ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies. 

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals and are invited to attend special award ceremonies to have their academic excellence publicly recognised. 

We encourage you to consider entering your child into ICAS this year. The assessments are suitable for students wishing to extend themselves academically and take up the personal challenge of competing in an international assessment that has been running for over 40 years. Your child will be presented with high-quality, expert-developed questions, allowing them to apply their learning without the need for prior study or revision.

ICAS Assessments are online, a move that reflects a sector-wide transition to online assessments. This allows greater accessibility for students and faster delivery of results. 

Learn more about ICAS here: https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas

2023 Participation

Our school has signed up for the ICAS Assessments parent payment system (PPS) for English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling Bee and Digital Technologies. Through this system, parents can pay for ICAS directly online while tests will still be held at our school. Please use the following details to register your child no later than July 15 2023. 

Access details for parents

These assessments will take place during the day starting at 9:00 am.

Queenstown Primary School has partnered with ICAS Assessments on delivering our 2023 assessment strategy and has scheduled the following assessments:

ICAS Digital Technologies - 8 August 2023

ICAS Writing - 7 August 2023

ICAS English - 14 August 2023

ICAS Science - 21 August 2023

ICAS Spelling Bee - 22 August 2023

ICAS Maths - 28 August 2023

For these tests, each student’s device must have the required locked-down browser. The school will provide devices. However, if your child has their own device please download the required browser onto your child’s device by 1 August to ensure the device is ready for test day. They are welcome to use school devices which may be easier.

The instructions on how to download the browser onto your child’s device are available here: https://www.icasassessments.com/support/technical-requirements-locked-down-browser

 This secure locked-down browser is designed to do the following during the test(s):

• Prevent students from accessing other applications, web pages, software or hardware features and only provides access to the test player.

• Prevents the use of operating system commands such as functions accessed by Ctrl-Alt-Delete.

• Disables features such as the camera, spell check, screenshot, home, keyboard shortcuts, and back and power buttons.

For more information about these assessments visit, https://www.icasassessments.com/products. 

Thank you for your cooperation with this. 

Privacy Collection Statement

To analyse your child’s progress effectively, our school conducts an ongoing assessment program. The assessment we are using is a product of Janison Solutions Pty Ltd (Janison). In order to deliver the assessment, Queenstown Primary and Janison (through our school) collect your child’s personal information, such as their name, date of birth, year level and school results when you register your child to sit an assessment in the program. You must ensure that this information is accurate and current.

Janison does not:

·   Collect any personal information or data of children other than as required for the purposes of completion of the exam;

·   Transfer any personal information or data obtained during the delivery of the ICAS exam out of Australia;

·   Share any personal information or data relating to children or students with any third parties;

·   Retain any personal information or data acquired during the delivery of the ICAS exam, and all such information or data is deleted from all Janison systems immediately upon completion of Janison’s contractual reporting to the school.

As the parent or guardian of a student who intends to sit an assessment, by registering your child into the assessment, you consent to our school and Janison collecting and using your child’s personal information for the purposes outlined above. 

If you do not provide your child’s personal information to us or Janison, we may not be able to deliver the assessment to your child. If you wish to access or correct your child’s personal information or to make a complaint about how we have handled your child’s personal information, please contact Janison’s Privacy Officer at privacy@janison.com or by writing to the Legal and Compliance Team, Janison Solutions Pty Ltd, 80 Bay Street, Ultimo, Sydney NSW 2007. 

We are proud to offer the ICAS Assessments and look forward to some fantastic results later in the year.

Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have any questions.

Kind regards,        

Justine Lock,

Deputy Principal

Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) is a group of fun, motivated parents who work together to fundraise for QPS, as unfortunately the government doesn’t cover the schools wish list of facilities and education options for our amazing kids. 

The PTA is unfortunately losing many of its members this year as their kids move on to High School. 

There are many reasons why parents join the PTA. For some it’s to help the school offer better facilities and for others it’s simply to connect with more parents socially. Whatever your reason might be, you are welcome on the PTA!

We really would like to have a PTA that represents our diverse school community.  You don’t need to have any special skills but just be happy to get together once a month in the school staff room and work as a team on projects initiated by the PTA. 

This is a great time to come on board. Covid is behind us and with new ideas the PTA has the ability to contribute significantly to our school, particularly with the proposed classroom and playground improvements.  

Uniform Reminder - Uniform Shop

You will find all your uniform requirements on the front page of our website with a full sizing guide.  The Uniform Shop is open every Tuesday of a school term in the school hall 8.30-9.00am sharp if you are unsure of size.  At the uniform shop, we have a small amount of secondhand uniform for sale.  If you would like to donate any uniform, please drop in to the school office.  NOTE:  School Hoodie can have your child's name on the back, cost $10, no nicknames allowed.

Student Accounts

If you would like to set up a payment plan for your child's account, please get in touch with Carly at accounts@queenstown.school.nz.  If you already have an automatic payment in place but are unsure if it will be enough to cover the items on your statement by the end of the year, do get in touch.  Likewise, if you think you may be paying too much, let her know and she can recalculate the amount for you!

Carly is here to help with any payment or statement queries you may have.

Student Absences
CLICK HERE to submit an absence.

FREE DENTAL CARE 

Children in New Zealand are entitled to free basic oral health care services until 17 years of age. If you would like your child to receive this free service please click on the following link to complete the online enrolment form: 

https://www.southernhealth.nz/getting-help-you-need/oral-and-dental-health/free-oral-health-service-children/southern-district 

Or telephone the clinic – 034509370 or Freephone 0800 570 300 – we are located at 19A Douglas Street, Frankton, Queenstown

If you are not a New Zealand resident there is a criteria to be met in order to receive free care, please ask the dental staff before enrolling.