Term 1 -Week 3 24 February 2022
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Principal's Message
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Habit of Mind and Loving Literature Link with Ms Connell
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Library Buzz with Mrs Sutton and the Library Team
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Prep - Year 3 Science News with Mrs Crowe
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Year 4-6 Science News with Mr Legge
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MATHS MATTERS with Mrs Lentakis (Numeracy coach) and Mrs van Fleet (Maths Intervention teacher)
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Sport Update with Mr Blair
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P & C - Tuckshop call for Volunteers
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P & C News - Uniform and Tuckshop Update
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QSchools App
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Community News
Principal's Message
Current Update
Once again, thank you for you ongoing support during the first 4 weeks of the Back to School Plan. This COVID-safe measure plan will remain in place until 4 March and aims to protect our school community.
You would have seen letters from me communicating to you in regards to students reported as positive to COVID, however it does appear that the Omicron wave has peaked in Queensland, so I am hopeful to see the numbers drop. Our thoughts continue to be with students, staff and family members working their way through COVID at home, either as a positive case in the family or as a close contact.
Staffing continues to be a daily challenge, but our school has been well supported by such a great collegial team of staff members, ensuring our year continues to focus on the right work, for every student.
This week, the Premier announced the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Queensland, including the state-wide mask mandate from 6 pm on Friday 4 March. This means that from that time, face masks will no longer be required in schools.
Schools will again be allowed to conduct assemblies, excursions and school camps. The other good news is that we’ll be able to relax the restrictions on parents and visitors to school from this date.
Facilities
As part of the Advancing Clean Energy Schools Program, Wynnum State School was approved to have solar panels installed on the roof of J Block.
Installation began on Monday, with advice that the project will take approximately one week, give or take the days of inclement weather. We’ll not only have a valuable asset to offset the costs of air-conditioning, but a great renewable energy source and another avenue for us to play our part in working towards an entire ecology that promotes sustainability.
Understanding social media sites and apps
Social media websites and apps are constantly evolving; to enhance your understanding of how to use them safely, the Office of the eSafety Commissioner website has a range of resources to support parents and children. The eSafety Commission's (Australia’s independent regulator for online safety), main aim is to safeguard Australians from online harms.
Please find below an important video along with an e-safety parent guide. I encourage everyone to view the video and information on this topic. Please note the content has been developed for an adult audience.
Mark Ionn
Principal
Habit of Mind and Loving Literature Link with Ms Connell
Our Habit of Mind for Weeks Three and Four is Managing Impulsivity. This Habit encourages us to take our time, to think before we act, to remain calm, thoughtful and deliberate.
Regular readers of the LLL will recognise that the book that has been selected to bring this Habit to life, My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook, was also the 2021 selection. Some books are worth reading more than once!
In this story, the character Louis has lots of important things to say and he struggles to manage his impulsivity as he blurts out his thoughts. Louis discovers this doesn't always turn out very well and he also learns how it feels when others don't manage their impulsivity. The book offers a strategy for being successful in Managing Impulsivity and invites the reader to think of strategies that might work for them. Enjoy!
Library Buzz with Mrs Sutton and the Library Team
School libraries = strong literacy and last week Queensland National School Library Week was celebrated. School libraries provide a social space to meet, collaborate, research, learn, share, and relax. Our school library is all of these and immensely popular during both break times. Our school library, is not just confined to the many wonderful, exciting, adventuresome, dream-away books on our shelves. Enjoy some happy snaps of students creating, imagining and innovating while responding with wonderment and awe! All intelligent behaviours for our students grow in order to succeed in our world today.
Student Borrowing
All students are encouraged to regularly borrow books from the Library.
- Students in Prep and Year One must have a library bag when borrowing to assist with book protection.
- Books borrowed can be kept for 2 weeks before they must be returned or renewed.
Thank you to those students and families organised for their library borrowing day. Remember if you do forget to return your library book you are most welcome to bring your book in on the next day, so you can enjoy a new book for your weekly Loving Literature time with your family.
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT OUR WYNNUM LIBRARY IN FLORENCE ST…
Many of our Wynnum Warriors are also members at our local library. You must check out all the free sessions that are on offer weekly. I thought I’d mention this family session coming up on Thursday 3 March. Challenge your thinking and bring out your creative side as we explore science, technology, reading and art through a range of fun activities. Ideal for family and friends of all ages.
Bookings are required. Phone Wynnum Library on 07 3403 2199 to reserve your place.
Just keep reading…
Mrs Sutton and the Library Team
Prep - Year 3 Science News with Mrs Crowe
A big Wynnum Wow to all our Prep botanists, Year One palaeontologists, Year Two biologists and Year Three zoologists! They have shared their absolute love of biology, and their emerging knowledge about living things, in these first weeks of science classes!
Look at the photos below of Year 1 showing their current knowledge about dinosaurs through diagrams. So detailed!
On Friday 11 February, many of our Wynnum Warrior female scientists from Year One to Six were thoroughly engaged in ‘International Women and Girls in Science Day’! Gathering data through all senses, questioning and problem solving, creating and innovating and absolute expressions of wonderment and awe occurred during our lunchtime celebration. Enjoy the many photos below!
Please save the following dates for great educational Science experiences for your family:
World Science Festival will be in Brisbane from 9-13 March. Well worth copying this link to plan your visit or online experience.
https://www.worldsciencefestival.com.au/
Mrs Crowe
Year 4-6 Science News with Mr Legge
The Year 4 students have been learning how to annotate a life cycle and a food chain diagram. They are learning how relationships within a biome aids in the survival of a living thing.
The Year 5 students are learning how to annotate a diagram outlining adaptations of living things, how those adaptations are beneficial to the survival of a living thing in their biome.
The Year 6 students are growing mould in class. If you haven’t found their 2021 lunchboxes yet, they might be doing it at home too. The students are learning that microorganisms are everywhere. We are inquiring into how changing one variable can impact on the survival of living things. Students have designed their own experiments and are conducting them this week. I look forward to sharing some photos of mouldy bread soon.
Mr Legge
MATHS MATTERS with Mrs Lentakis (Numeracy coach) and Mrs van Fleet (Maths Intervention teacher)
What’s going on: During Term One, our Maths focus across Years One to Six, is on Measurement, Geometry and Statistics along with the ongoing number concepts appropriate for each year level. Most homerooms are currently working in the area of Measurement which may include length, capacity, mass, volume, temperature and calculating perimeter and area, depending on the year level.
Tell me more:
What is the difference between Volume and Capacity?
Volume is the amount of space that a three-dimensional object occupies. Volume is usually measured in cubic units, such as cubic metres () or cubic centimetres ().
Capacity is the total amount of matter (solid, liquid or gas) that a container, such as a bottle can hold. It is measured in units such as litres(L) or millilitres(mL).
Length is the amount of lineal space (distance) from one point to another. The metric unit of length of a metre is the distance between the North Pole and the Equator divided by ten million.
Have a go together:
Measurement is an area of Maths which can be supported by real life, everyday hands-on experiences at home. Ask your child what they have been learning about in Measurement. Make measuring fun and relevant for your child by doing activities such as:
- Comparing and ordering everyday items or toys by length, mass or capacity (Yrs1/2)
- Measuring and comparing everyday items or toy by length, mass or capacity using standard instruments such as tape measures, kitchen/bathroom scales, measuring jugs, cups, buckets
(Yrs 3/4/5/6)
- Helping out in the kitchen by measuring out cooking ingredients
- Discussing the different temperatures during the day (Yr4)
- Discussing when out shopping/unpacking the shopping the unit of measurement used and amount shown on the packaging.
Some children’s books relating to Measurement to look out for:
- Who Sank the Boat, by Pamela Allen (mass/balance)
- Mr Archimedes’ Bath, by Pamela Allen (volume)
- Six Feet Long and Three Feet Wide, by Jeannie Billington (length)
- Counting on Frank, by Rod Clement (length, area, volume)
- How Big is it?, by Ben Hillman ((length, area, volume)
- How Big is Big?, By Gretel Watson (length, volume, mass)
- Ernest, by Catherine Rayner (area, size)
Sport Update with Mr Blair
Hello Wynnum SS parents and carers. Our Term 1 swimming program is well underway with all classes beginning their second lesson this week. Students have been very enthusiastic getting back into the pool and have shown maturity in their entries and exits and moving through the water. A small selection of students are coming to class without their swim bag so please see the table below for the day your child is swimming.
A reminder to all parents to please pack swimming caps along with other swimming essentials as they are part of the necessary uniform.
Since the last newsletter, regarding district trials, students can now nominate to participate in these additional sports:
- 10-12 years girls AFL
- 10-12 years boys touch football
- 10-11 years girls and boys netball
- 10-12 years girls touch football
- 12 years boys rugby league
If your son/ daughter would like to trial for any of the above, please send them to see Jas in the office. *Please note there is a selection criteria to attend the trial. If your child/ren do not meet the criteria they unfortunately will not be allowed to trial.
Haydn Blair
PE Specialist
P & C - Tuckshop call for Volunteers
Do you have an hour or more a week to volunteer in our school tuckshop? The P & C would love to hear from you. Please register your interest with the school office asap on 3893 5111.
P & C News - Uniform and Tuckshop Update
With a new school year, we are looking for new members to join our P&C in 2022!
- What we do: provide a direct link from the parent community to the school, raise vital funds for the school, run the tuckshop and uniform shop – basically getting involved to help our kids!
- How we raise funds: organise fundraising events, raffles, grants/donations – we are always on the lookout for new and exciting ideas, so if you have any, let us know and get involved!
- What we contribute: each year we contribute to school improvement projects and resources. In 2022 we contributed $30,000 towards laptops for student use in their learning and assessment activities.
- How to be involved: come along to a meeting, join any of the fundraising events as a volunteer, contact us via email, pandc@gmail.com or check out our Facebook page - www.facebook.com/WSSPandC. Note – you don’t have to be a member of the P&C to join our meetings or get involved in any fundraising events. However, it does give you voting rights.
Every March we hold the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and all parents, staff and other citizens of our community are welcome to attend. At the AGM the P&C Executive Committee positions of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary are newly elected for the year and general memberships are accepted or renewed. If you are interested in any of the Executive positions and keen to get involved, please do not hesitate to contact us for further information about the roles and to obtain a nomination form.
The AGM is currently scheduled for Thursday, 17 March. Given these uncertain times, we will reconfirm the date of our AGM closer to its date in the next school newsletter and on our FB page.
In terms of membership for the P&C, please complete this form if you wish to renew or join for 2022: wynnumss.eq.edu.au/Supportandresources/Formsanddocuments/Documents/membership-form.pdf
For further general information on our P&C, please refer to https://wynnumss.eq.edu.au/SupportAndResources/FormsAndDocuments/Documents/pandc-information.pdf
Mega-Bite Cafeteria
Thank you to those who have expressed an interest in supporting our lovely ladies at the Cafeteria. As anyone can appreciate, there are lots of meals, cookies, slushies to be made and served to our students, so any extra helping hands are very welcome! If you are free for an hour or even the whole morning on a Monday, Thursday or Friday, please contact Tricia on 0449804427. We would love to have you on board. Please note that all volunteers at our school will need to be been double vaccinated in line with the Qld Government’s Health Direction.
A new menu has been created based on the feedback and suggestions from last term and it is available on Flexischool. Please make sure to update your child’s class before placing your first order.
Uniform Shop
Thank you everyone for your patience over the first week while we were waiting for stock to come in. We are now 'back in business’ and hopefully everyone has now been able to purchase their WSS uniforms.
QSchools App
Don't forget to download the QSchools App to your Iphone or Android device. The QSchools App is another great way for Wynnum State School families to receive and read our fortnightly school newsletter and also receive important notifications regarding school events. Simply download to your phone and 'star' Wynnum State School as your 'favourite' school.