Wynnum State School eNewsletter

Principal's Message

In this special Reconciliation Week edition, Wynnum State School students and staff acknowledge and pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we learn and work, the Quandamooka Peoples. We extend that Acknowledgement to ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge that this country on which we meet has been a place of learning for tens of thousands of years, and we thank them for allowing us to work together, share knowledge and walk alongside them in the education of our Jarjums.

Inclusion

‘Inclusion’ is a fundamental commitment by Wynnum State School and the Department of Education and has been part of our explicit improvement agenda in recent years. Our case-management approach to teaching and learning is aimed at building success for all students irrespective of their individual circumstances, culture, ability or health.

Part of the inclusion agenda is the Department of Education’s commitment to Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. The Commitment Statement leads with the following introduction:

“We, the Department of Education, make this commitment, in the spirit of reconciliation, to deliver aspirational educational, economic and social outcomes for Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As public servants, we have a responsibility to develop a genuine understanding of our history and its lasting impact on Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This document commits our entire workforce to deliver this commitment statement and to place Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples at the forefront of our decision making. Creating supportive environments where stakeholders feel empowered to act, allows our agency to move collectively in the same direction.”

REMINDER – Our postponed yarn will be happening on Monday, the 6^th of June, led by Quandamooka Elder Uncle Norm Enoch. The yarn will begin at 9am in the yarning circle (near Moreton Bay Environmental Centre).

Mark Ionn
Principal

Parent Forums with our Leadership Team

Recently, we hosted 2 parent forums to get input on topics requiring new policies or operational reform. All topics were explored using one central question: If Wynnum State School was exceeding your expectations in this area – what would that look like, sound like and what would the experience be?

I would like to thank all our participants for their time and willingness to be our first groupings, in what will be an ongoing commitment to allow for face to face collaboration on key issues, and a mechanism for building a new strategic plan for the school. We will now engage other stakeholders in gaining feedback and input.

The challenge of hearing all voices is capturing the essence of consensus on issues. Some emerging themes did come through from the forums, and I would like to share these themes with everyone.

In terms of Homework, the responses were wide and varied. However, there were some consistent themes around building homework complexity across the years from prep to year 6, with many references to meaningful homework, aligned to the Australian Curriculum, and set consistently in amongst year levels. There were many references to the use of the diary, and its current format. Reading and spelling (high frequency words) was considered important, as well as providing optional opportunities for those who are able to extended or increase levels of engagement. The groups raised equity and access around different delivery platforms (e.g. online options). There was also discussion around consequences surrounding non-compliance to home routines.

Input on Religious Instruction delivery was the most varied. Although the development of the policy for Wynnum State School is about how R.I is done, there was a strong consensus (and expressed strongly), that state schools are not the place for religion, and that many had issues with the time it takes out of learning time. Counterbalancing this, there were voices advocating R.I in a fortnightly format rather than a one-day option. There was a consistent theme of perhaps parents not being fully aware of opt in/opt out option at enrolment, and that no matter what is chosen as a delivery for W.S.S, there should be a renewed choice on participation. Some parents indicated a greater desire to have more varied options for R.I, some beyond a Christian stand-alone instruction. Some parents indicated that the area could expand to a study of religion, history and faith / cultures.

In regards to Communication, the groups stated that communication had improved, website contained pertinent information, and that the new newsletter format is easy to read and allows readers to go directly to areas of interest. Perhaps some consideration of providing a hard copy option for some families came up in terms of suggestions. They told us that text messaging has a particular function for important information, for example, sport cancellation, COVID, floods. There was a consistent theme of texts are better than email, although there was consensus the emails from teachers, particularly at beginning of year, are of great value. There was satisfaction of the changing nature of the Facebook P & C page in terms of its functionality. Full Assembly helpful with key messages, and that students knowing next year teacher and classroom prior to end of year very helpful and appreciated.

Lastly, School / Community Involvement saw consistent positive feedback in regards to parent teacher interviews, but wanting more time (more than 10 minutes) during the interview time, and a desire for them to be done in classrooms. Reporting was received well, with many positive comments, however there was a consistent request for reports to be more personal than generic, less jargon and perhaps more 'glow and grow' comments in specialist areas. There was a large response to including specialist teachers in the interview event. There was also a consensus from parents that they are keen and ready to volunteer more, especially in regards to classroom support and as witnessed recently, a desire to volunteer and support P&C initiated events and processes. As a general theme, parents are missing special events in the classroom with children such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, as well as missing elements of children dancing before school and handball, library, Kilometer Club for example. The concept of a possible parent liaison rep for each class or year level was raised by some. In terms of validation of the parent forums, all participants indicated a level of satisfaction of being part of the forum to give feedback and input.

Considering the positive nature of parent forums as a key mechanism (in partnership with input for our P&C) for gaining input, we look forward to continuing this practice. Participants were asked to give their thoughts on future topics. Some given were: social and emotional wellbeing; extra-curricula activities; first nations perspectives; lunch clubs.

Again, all the comments on exit slips and direct feedback has been greatly appreciated and genuinely taken as valuable feedback towards us responding and working towards a school that exceeds expectations.

NAIDOC WEEK

Wynnum State School is celebrating NAIDOC WEEK for 2022 in Week 1 of Term 3. The Student Council is partnering with the Library staff to host a colouring-in competition across all the year levels of the school, leading into NAIDOC week next term. Students can collect competition entries from the library or their homeroom teacher and can hand them back to the library with their name and class before the end of term. The Student Council will continue to advertise other events that will occur during NAIDOC Week in the coming weeks.

Change to Early Collection Process

Congratulations to all our families supporting learning by making sure students are arriving on time in the morning. It is now rare to see anyone coming late after the second bell (8.45am), and the extra hour of learning time a week is being put to good use. A reminder that if your child enters late through the Stradbroke Ave entrance, they need to sign in through the office before heading back up to class. This makes sure we have accurate attendance data before the daily absence SMS are sent out. With the temperatures dropping and little people getting weary, on time arrivals are going to become more of a challenge for the next few weeks, so let’s all keep pushing through to finish strong!

With the extra time being gained back in the morning, we are going to tackle the loss of learning time in the afternoons. Our front office is experiencing a huge increase in requests for early collections. Classes are being interrupted, multiple times a day, by teachers having to stop teaching to answer the phone to send students to the office. More and more students are leaving early and missing instruction. Our amazing front office staff are also stretched to meet the increasing demands.

All early pick-ups will now require parents/carers to come into the office, sign out their child/ren and then pick up directly from the classroom/s or specialist lesson. Families with regular appointment times scheduled and communicated through the class teacher/s are to continue with the process they have in place.

We are looking forward to teachers being able to teach, and our learners being able to learn, right through until 2.45pm, whenever possible. Thank you for your understanding as we transition to the new process.

Habit of Mind and Loving Literature Link with Ms Connell (DP Years 1-3)

Our Habit of Mind this fortnight encourages us to pay attention to the world around us. To look, listen, smell, touch and taste; to take in all the information that we possible can. This Habit is called Gathering Data Through all the Senses and it helps us to be more connected with the environment around us and to be more effective learners. The book to explore this Habit is The Couch Potato and if you click on the link below, you will follow along with the adventure of a very comfortable potato who goes on an interesting adventure. Enjoy!

Library Buzz with Mrs Sutton and the Library Team

Last week our WSS students enjoyed listening to the book, Family Tree by Josh Pyke and illustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh for the National Simultaneous Story Read. The students in Prep and Years 1 and 2 further explored this story during their Oral Language time in the library. We discussed how the tree in the story started as a seed, and then grew from a tiny sapling to a towering giant, and was climbed and appreciated by the grandchildren of the original generation who planted it. We could also make connections to our school and local area where there are many types of eucalyptus trees and other native trees. Some students shared they had found gum nuts and other seed pods during their local walks. During our read, we thought of the girl in the story leaving her family tree and her home and students shared what emotions they felt at different parts of the story and what in the book triggered them. By looking at the clues in the illustrations we also thought about where she had gone. We concluded our book talk by acknowledging our magnificent groundsman, Mr Eric and the care and joy he creates in our grounds for future generations of students to appreciate and enjoy. Thank you Mr Eric!

National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about shared histories and cultures. Ms Sellars has prepared some beautiful books on display for teachers and students to share and have thoughtful discussions about inclusion, diversity and the importance of saying sorry. We would also like to encourage students to combine the enjoying of reading with colouring in some authentic indigenous pictures available during lunch breaks over the next few weeks.

Just keep reading…

Science News with Mrs Crowe (Prep-3 Science specialist)

What a ‘WWW’ (Wynnum Wow Wonderful) time we have had in the P-3 Science Lab since the last newsletter!

Year One have worked interdependently in small groups to continue their investigation of the properties of, and changes in, materials. With persistence and problem solving needed throughout construction of ‘Spaghetti and Marshmallow Towers’, groups concentrated, and took their time, to be successful. All were very proud of their achievements. Look at their amazing towers!

Year Two chemists used oil, detergent and water in the ‘Density Experiment’ which stimulated much scientific prediction and discussion as each substance made its own layer. These inquiring young scientists also separated components of a mixture (Chromatography) using felt pens and water to separate colours on filter paper. The ‘Travelling Ink’ was very exciting to watch as it moved up the filter paper and slowly began separating into different colours. Secondary colours broke into primary colours simply by using water! See the results below.

WORLD BEE DAY was an absolutely wonderful celebration of the spirit of our young Wynnum Warriors, displaying their deep interest in scientific investigation and love of BEES!

Our P-3 Science Lab BUZZED all day with true Wonderment and Awe, as all early year classes explored the myriad of hands on experiences, to learn about both Australian native bees and European honey bees!

Continuous Questioning and Problem Posing and Gathering Data through all Senses occurred at every BEE station. Our Preps (in their gorgeous hand-made bee hats) to Year Three entomologists investigated authentic beekeeping equipment, tasted a range of honey from the local area, observed native bee and honey bee equipment and engaged in educational study with local beekeepers and sustainable gardeners to …SAVE OUR BEES! Enjoy the photos below. Please click on the link below to see the ‘hive’ action in the P-3 Science Lab!

This year we will be running the ICAS assessments in the mornings before school. They will begin at 7.30am and will run from a designated classroom. The dates for the tests on offer are below. Our school dates will be finalised when we have the numbers secured for each of the tests.

English	15^th – 19^th August	Years 2 - 6	$19.25
Science	22^nd – 26^th August	Years 2 - 6	$19.25
Mathematics	29^th August – 2^nd September	Years 2 - 6	$19.25

There is an online payment system. Please visit https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps

Access is gained through a school code.

You will be sent to the following page to enter details:-

There are other tests available that you may wish to register your child for. These will have to be completed from home. There are instructions on the website. https://www.icasassessments.com/

We are looking forward to supporting Wynnum families in participating in the ICAS assessments.

Maths Matters with Mrs Lentakis (Numeracy coach) and Mrs van Fleet (Maths Intervention teacher)

What’s going on: Fractured Fractions

Understanding fractions can be very challenging. The first step to understanding fractions is that something is divided into equal parts. Fractions can also be equal parts of a whole, a measure like time, capacity, mass, length, a group or collection, and on a number line. Children learn about all these different ways to show fractions.

Got it! Next time we will continue exploring Fractured Fractions! In the meantime, email through any questions etc to hlent1@eq.edu.au.

Music with Mrs Gordon

♫ Instrumental Music

CONGRATULATIONS! to the Senior Concert Band who were awarded Silver in the Wynnum Cluster Heat for the Education Queensland Instrumental Fanfare Competition.

The students were wonderfully resilient when their conductor Mr Cosic was unfortunately unwell and played enthusiastically under the baton of Mrs Carolyn Anderson (WSHS IM Teacher)

WAMM Mini 2022 – two weeks ago the Year 4 Junior Band students went to Wynnum State High School to play their instruments with students from six other local Primary schools. Over the two days of the music camp everyone worked hard learning two new pieces of music then performed brilliantly on the last afternoon for families and school principals. They were WAMM-tastic!!

♫ Choir

Singing makes you happy!

Both the Senior and Junior Choirs have commenced rehearsals in the Music Room.

All are welcome to come along!

♫ Overview of Music Rehearsals

Fanfare Senoir Band Silver Award

Sports Report with Mr Blair

Several weeks ago on the 5^th May, Wynnum sent 14 of our fastest cross country runners to Capalaba where they raced either 2km or 3km across a grassy terrain. (Group Picture)
A big congratulations to all who competed with everyone finishing their races and representing the school well. Mia and Emma Blakely (pictured) were successful in reaching the next trail, Met East, and we wish them all the best.

Unfortunately with this persistent rain Interschool Sport has been cancelled for several weeks. Lets cross our fingers that we can finish the term with some good, sunny weather. Go Wynnum Warriors!

Super Skipping Squad with the Student Council

The Student Council are hosting an active and exciting event called the Super Skipping Squad. This event, beginning Week 8 is encouraging participation from all the year levels to earn points for the house. Students just need go to the tennis courts on their assigned day and join in.

Students need to listen out for the loud speaker each day, as student leaders will announce before first break which day is your turn.

Week 8

Monday 6^th June - Year 6

Tuesday 7^th June – Year 5

Wednesday 8^th June – Year 4

Thursday 9^th June – Year 3

Friday 10^th June– Year 2

Week 9

Monday 13^th June – Year 1

Tuesday 14^th June - Prep

Students don’t have to be awesome at skipping, this event is to get students active, physical and to have fun. The Student Council are excited for everyone to get skipping and are keen to see which house will win.

May the best team win!

Prep- Year 3 Celebration of Learning

A reminder that families are invited to MEGA central on Thursday 23 June to celebrate with our Prep to Year Three Wynnum Warriors. During each session, each class will perform an item and students will be presented with their Habit of Mind awards for the term. Sessions times are below:

9.00-9.45am – Year 2 session

9.45-10.35am - Prep session

11.15-12.00pm – Year 1 session

12.00-12.45pm – Year 3 session

We hope lots of family members can join us!

Year 5 Overboard & Underwater with Miss Clark

During Week 6 the Year 5 students attended the Overboard & Underwater excursion held by Moreton Bay Environmental Education Centre. Students adopted their role as Environmental Managers and explored the Wynnum Manly area to investigate how living things are affected by the physical environment and how human activity impacts upon this. The boat ride into Moreton Bay filled our Environmental Manager’s with excitement as they explored the impact microplastics have on marine life. Sediment from the ocean floor was collected and filtered in search of microplastics and other living things. Despite the persistent rainfall, a wonderful day was had by all.

Traffic Safety

Please remember that the Stradbroke Ave carpark is only available for staff and ECDP parents. The boomgate is currently awaiting a replacement part and unfortunately a number of parents are seeing the raised gate as an opportunity to drive in and drop off their children in the morning and again drive in and pick up in the afternoon. This isn’t safe. We have constant pedestrian traffic, students on bikes and very young children with disabilities accessing the ECDP. It isn’t comfortable for staff to be constantly reminding families that this isn’t a drop off/pick up area, but until the boom gate is repaired, we will continue to do so for our students’ sake. Boxgrove Ave has a designated off road drop-off/pick-up area that helps to keep all our precious Wynnum Warriors safe. We appreciate your understanding and support of this process.

National Walk to School Safely Day with The Student Council

National Walk to School Safely Day Was on the 20^th Of May. The Student Council we positioned at the front and back gates before school and were astounded at how many students were walking to school. Many students asked to get dropped off further from school and walked from there.

We LOVED how so many Wynnum Warriors were wearing their crazy colourful socks to show their support.

We hoped everyone enjoyed getting their Tattoos. Everyone looked so funny and so cool in them. Our school definitely succeeded in supporting this wonderful event & have made all of us VERY VERY proud. A very special thanks to all of Wynnum State School, the Parents, the Teachers & of course the Community Committee.

National Simultaneous Story Time with the Student Council

On Wednesday the 25^th Wynnum State School hosted the 2022 National Simultaneous Storytime. Every class in our school particapated in this event by listen to the story Family Tree written by Josh Pyke and Ronojoy Ghosh. We watched a video of the book being read by Gabriella Wang who is an Australian-Chinese children’s book author.

We would like to congratulations all the lucky winners who received their own copy of the Family Tree. Winners were greeted by 4 past reading mascots – Thing 2 from 2015, the Lovely Llama from 2019, a Chicken Diva from 2020 and Luna the Astronaut from 2021.

The book has even been turned into brail for one of our students who have a vision impairment. What a Wynnum Wow! It was a remarkable event.

Prep 2023 Tour and Transition Session information

2022 School Term Dates

Term 2 concludes: Friday 24 June

Term 3: Monday 11 July to Friday 16 September

Term 4: Tuesday 4 October to Friday 9 December

Finance Matters

The school's preferred payment method for all excursions/incursions/camps is now via BPOINT. All parents/carers will recieve an invoice to their nominated email address when a school activity is invoiced to their child's account. This invoice contains a BPOINT link (located on the bottom left hand side of the invoice) which directs you to a secure payment website upon which credit card details can be entered to make payment. Please make contact with the office if you are not receiving your invoices via email.

Administration

P & C News - Democracy sausage sizzle, fundraisers and next meeting

Tuckshop - Volunteers and traffic light system

A big thank you to the volunteers who have been helping in the Tuckshop. Volunteers are essential to getting lunches made and ready on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. If you have time to assist with meal preparations, baking or packing lunches, please contact June on 0449 804 427.

The Tuckshop promotes healthy food and drink choices to students through a traffic light system. This is the Smart Choices Health Food and Drink Supply Strategy for Queensland Schools. The majority of food from the Tuckshop is made from scratch to meet these guidelines.

Green foods are regularly available and promoted at school. These foods are drawn from the five basic food groups and are low in saturated fat, sugar and/or salt and are rich in nutrients.
Amber foods are carefully selected and offered in smaller portions, as they are more processed foods. Menu items in the amber category include ice blocks and party pies.

Red foods are ‘occasional’ foods and drinks. They are foods that are high in saturated fat and/or added sugar and/or salt. One ff “Red Days” are planned in advance to offer students an occasional treat meal from the Tuckshop. On these days, alternative and healthy items will still be available to cater for dietary requirements. When the Tuckshop does have a Red Day it is best to order online to avoid disappointment.

Uniform shop

The uniform shop hours are:

Tuesday 8:30am – 9:30am
Thursday 2:30pm – 3:30pm

Or alternatively, you can order on Flexischools at any time.

Fundraisers

On top of the Tuckshop and Uniform Shop, a key role of the P&C is raising essential funds for the school. The plan for 2022 includes:

Term 3 – Colour run and a movie night
Term 4 – Trivia night and Disco.

If you would like to volunteer to assist with any of this fundraising, please contact the P&C – wynnumss.pandc@gmail.com

Democracy Sausage Sizzle

Thank you to everyone who supported the democracy sausage sizzle and bake sale, which raised almost $2,000 for the school. Such a huge achievement with the support of parents and the community.

The next fundraisers will be in Term 3 – the Colour Run and a Movie Night. More details on how you can get involved will be made available as soon as possible.

The next P&C meeting will be held at 7pm on Wednesday 15 June 2022 in the school Administration building. All members of our school community are welcome and we are working to ensure there will be an option to attend online via Microsoft Teams.

You can also keep up to date via our Facebook page - Wynnum State School Parents and Citizens’ Association. Or via email wynnumss.pandc@gmail.com

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.