Issue 8 – The Hall Happenings 28 May 2025

Principal’s Messages

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome to Week 6 at The Hall!

Staffing News

Farewell to Mrs Ellen Von Allmen

It is with heartfelt gratitude that we formally acknowledge the retirement of our long-serving Groundsperson, Mrs Ellen Von Allmen. Ellen began her journey with The Hall State School in 1989, and over the past 36 years, she has been an integral part of our school community.

Ellen’s dedication and passion have left a lasting legacy—she was the driving force behind our many gardening competition wins and the success of our recycling and gardening programs. Her willingness to share her knowledge with students has inspired generations to appreciate the value of growing fresh fruit and vegetables and giving back to the community.

Ellen officially retired on 19 May 2025, and while we will miss her daily presence, we are fortunate that she continues to support our school as a valued member of the P&C and a regular volunteer at our breakfast club. We sincerely thank Ellen for her outstanding contribution, unwavering commitment, and the many years of service she has given to The Hall State School.

Welcome

In other staffing news, I would like to happily inform our community that Mr. Steven Moore was successful in attaining the position of permanent grounds officer here at The Hall State School. Steve has already proven to be an extremely valuable member of our team so I am sure you will be as thrilled as I am to officially welcome him to our staff. We are also able to welcome a fantastic addition to our Cleaning Team. Welcome to Julie Ahern who you will see in the afternoons around school.

On another positive note, we can now formally welcome Renee Mick to our Teacher Aide team as a permanent departmental position. Renee has been with us and supporting us for quite a while now and we are pleased that the role has become permanent. We have also been extremely fortunate to have Eve Martin accept our offer for a contract in 4/5S each Friday. We are thrilled to welcome Eve to our team alongside Tennille Lacey, our 4/5S teacher from Monday to Thursday. Eve has already made a positive impact for our students here at THSS.

Teaching and Learning at The Hall

As we move through this term, we continue our focus on improving outcomes for students in English and ensuring access and engagement in learning for all our students. I want to thank our families for their continued support of our teaching and learning programs at The Hall State School. It’s been a term full of growth, connection, and strong learning routines.

This week, our teachers are engaging in important formative assessment tasks in English. These checkpoints help us gather high-quality evidence about your child’s learning progress so we can tailor our teaching accordingly. Teachers and teacher aides work together closely to review the data and plan responsive teaching sprints for the weeks ahead. Our focus on explicit instruction, backed by the science of learning and practices like Teach Like a Champion, ensure that every student receives the support they need to thrive. This aligns directly with our improvement priority to increase achievement in English and build every child’s confidence and engagement in learning.

On Friday and other times throughout the year, members of our Diverse Learning Team, leadership team, and several classroom teachers have engaged in professional development through the Berry Street Education Model. This evidence-based training focuses on trauma-informed, strengths-based approaches to classroom practice and student engagement. It aligns closely with our ongoing work to ensure every child feels safe, known, and ready to learn. As we continue to implement our Multi-Tiered Systems of Support and strengthen access and engagement in learning, this professional learning helps us respond more effectively to individual needs and create a school environment where all students can thrive.

Reconciliation Week

As part of our recognition of National Reconciliation Week, we are proud to continue our commitment to truth-telling, respect, and learning together. This Friday, we welcome Aunty Judi to The Hall, who will be working with our Years 4-6 students to share stories, culture, and knowledge. These experiences enrich our school community and help ensure all students walk together with understanding and empathy.

As always, thank you for being a vital part of our school community. We are proud of the collective efforts being made to support learning and wellbeing for all students.

Kind regards,
Mrs Katie Bull
Principal

Head of Diverse Learning Team

Regards
Mrs Norelle Kasberger
HOSES
Diverse Learning Team

Head of Curriculum

School Priority One – Improvement in English – C and Above

National Simultaneous Story Time

Over two million people read or listened to the story Truck Cat last week at the same time.  Isn’t that amazing!!  Appreciation for reading and literature is an important part of the Australian Curriculum and so, like every year, The Hall State School students participated again.  Instead of sitting under our fig tree as a school we held it in our MPC and watched the live streaming of the author reading it.  Imagine our whole school coming together as one to read!! 

Learning Walls

Learning Walls display work, concepts and content that classes are working on throughout the unit.  Anchor charts are charts with key information that students anchor back, link back to when they want help in remembering.  The classroom environment and the Learning Wall is a third teacher.  And gee whiz our English Learning Walls are user friendly, colourful and have the critical information displayed for our students.  Now colour doesn’t really matter right?  Well, it does.  Colour draws our attention to something; it makes important words stand out and makes our learning walls a little more engaging.  What is displayed is intentionally chosen to ensure the key information is available all the time for our students.

Checkpoints

Throughout the term, we have checkpoints to check where our students are at with the current English unit.  From this staff and students develop goals which are the next steps for our students and the next lessons are targeted to these.  As a Leadership Team, we track the movement of our students’ learning in English through these checkpoints and end of term assessments.  This term all students across the school are working on information reports which is always a fun unit!!

School Priority Two – Access and Engagement

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)

This week’s focus is ‘PRAISE A PEER’.  Praising a peer is when staff and students recognise staff or students for following our school expectations.  At this week’s morning muster, I led a mini lesson on this week’s focus.  It was great to start the week with a consistent message about the focus.

Our PBL Team is finalising the rewards for those students who reach the Bee Band level and it is sounding very EXCITING!!!

Our PBL Coach, Ms Cochrane, met with the Regional PBL Coach last week to discuss last year’s surveys and this year’s action plan.  This will support us to continue solidifying our Tier 1 work.

Kind regards,
Ms Tracey Vine
HODC 

General Messages

Payments

Preferred payment methods: to streamline the payment process and make it convenient for you, we encourage the use of our online payment platforms – Bpoint, QParents or Qkr! These platforms are secure, user-friendly, and provide a hassle-free way to manage your child’s payments.  If you have not registered for these services, our school office staff will be more than happy to assist you in setting up your account.

Winter Weather and Uniform Reminder

As the colder weather sets in, we remind all families of The Hall State School’s winter uniform expectations. Students are encouraged to dress warmly, but it is important that all clothing remains in line with our school uniform policy.

Cold Weather Uniform expectations

• Students must only wear a plain navy blue jumper/jacket (without other writing/colours) or our school spray jacket.
• If students require cover over their legs, the only acceptable option is navy blue tracksuit pants/navy blue leggings.

Please ensure that all clothing items are clearly labelled with your child’s name to avoid lost property issues.

QParents

Stay connected with your child’s education – Sign up for QParents today!

We encourage all parents and carers to register for QParents, a secure online portal that gives you easy access to your child’s school information – anytime, anywhere.

With QParents, you can:

• View report cards.
• Track attendance and absences.
• Update student details.
• Make payments and view invoices.

It’s a convenient and efficient way to stay informed and involved in your child’s education.

Visit www.qparents.qld.edu.au to get started and contact the school office for assistance with your invitation code.

Student of the Week

Congratulations to the following students who received Student of the Week awards.

P & C News

🌟 Get Involved: The Vital Role of Our P&C Association 🌟

Did you know that our Parents and Citizens' (P&C) Association plays a key role in shaping the future of our school? Working hand-in-hand with the school principal and wider community, the P&C is committed to supporting the growth and success of our school to ensure the best outcomes for every student.

Our P&C does more than just attend meetings — they actively:

• Provide valuable feedback and advice on school policies and activities
• Help secure resources to enhance student learning
• Organise and support a range of school events and services such as fundraising efforts, community functions, the tuckshop, and outside school hours care

Your involvement, big or small, makes a real difference. The P&C meets on Wednesday at 3.30pm in the Library in Week 3 and Week 8 of each term. Join us in building a stronger school community! A big thank you to our behind-the-scenes team—Amanda, Amber, and our new Tuckshop Convenor, Kirsten—for all your hard work. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to making our Mother’s Day stall a success!

🌿 The Hall State School Environmental Festival 2025 – Celebrate Sustainability with Us! 🌱

The Hall State School P&C Committee is excited to announce our Environmental Festival 2025, taking place at the school grounds on Friday, 12th September 2025, from 4:30pm to 9:00pm. This fun-filled community event is all about raising awareness of the important environmental programs that we’re proud to champion—not only within our school, but throughout the broader Rockhampton community.

Enjoy:
🎡 Rides
🎨 Student art
🎶 Music performances
🎟️ Multi-Draw Raffle with great prizes!
🛍️ Market & kid stalls
🍔 Food & drink stalls (plus a bar!)

This is also our major annual fundraiser, supporting student programs and local outreach.

🌱 Stallholder or sponsor?

We welcome organisations to host a stall and share their sustainability efforts with the Rockhampton community.
To register, please contact the P&C at pandc@thehallss.ed.edu.au to get your registration form.

Registration closes on 29^th August 2025.

 Let’s make this year’s festival inspiring and impactful—together for a greener future!

– The Hall State School P&C Committee

Eisteddfod News

Congratulations to all our students who have competed in the Rockhampton Eisteddfod. All students should be very proud of their performances. Thank you to the staff and school community for your support. Thank you also to the teachers and parents who helped supervise the students at the Eisteddfod.

1^st Place - Boys Choir singing “Plastic Bag Ball”
1^st Place – Senior Choir singing “I Am the Earth” & “I See the Light”
1^st Place – Junior Choir singing “Why Can’t I Fly”
2^nd Place – Year 6 Folk Group singing “I Had a Little Nut Tree”
Highly Commended – Year 5 Folk Group singing “Who Killed Cock Robin”

One of our students, Oliver W competed in the speech and Drama section of the Eisteddfod and performed admirably achieving the following places:

• Third Place - Character Recital In Costume Girls/Boys 9 Years
• First Place - Duo/Trio Poem Girls/Boys U/10 Years
• Highly Commended - Light Verse Girls/Boys 9 Years

A further huge congratulations to our wonderful music teacher Mrs Jodie Hiron.  The school was rewarded for all her hard work and dedication to our choirs, receiving the Agnes & George Keegan Memorial Trophy for the highest aggregate for small school choirs. The Boys Choir were also given the Tom Hogan School Choir Encouragement Award.

4CF - Exploring Forces with Pinball Machines.

This term in Design Technologies, our classroom has been buzzing with creativity and curiosity. We’ve been diving into the world of forces—including elastic, gravitational, and mechanical forces—and putting our knowledge into action by designing and building our very own pinball machines.

In the photo below, you’ll see some of our young engineers hard at work. They’re experimenting with different materials to slow down a marble, exploring how resistance and friction can influence motion. It’s been amazing to see the thoughtful designs and teamwork in action as students test, tinker, and improve their machines.

Not only are students applying science concepts, but they’re also developing important skills like problem-solving, collaboration, and critical thinking. We can’t wait to share our final creations with you soon. Stay tuned for updates—and maybe even a classroom pinball tournament!

Library News

Support C&K’s Open Week – Help Us Spread the Word!

C&K is excited to announce our upcoming Open Week, a special opportunity for families to visit our centres, meet our educators, and discover the nurturing early learning environments we offer across Queensland.

Camp Australia OSHC

As Term 2 gets underway, we’d love to share some fantastic OSHC programs with our school community. From creativity and play to wellbeing and big competitions, there’s something for every child.