Term 4 - Week 6 2022

Principal's Message with Mr Ionn

The last couple of weeks have been tremendous. This has included: the selection of school captains and student leaders for next year; the recognition of staff for World Teachers / Staff Day; the multitude of student events including sporting and artistic achievement; all culminating in the Colour Splattacular, formerly known as the Colour Run.  Once again, I joined willing partners to put ourselves in the firing line to be slimed.  I have to say that, after the event,  I was still finding slime in places I wasn't expecting! 

Thank you for your support of this P&C fundraiser. The money raised is directed back to school to support key learning initiatives, which in turn supports every child. A huge thank you to P&C President Sophia Holt and the P&C team for organising this event.

                                                                                      What a shot! 

School Opinion Survey Data

School Opinion Surveys canvass the views of parents/caregivers, students and school staff from every state school on what our schools do well and how they can improve. In 2022, our school engaged in three different confidential surveys for:

• Parents/Caregivers
• Students 
• School staff

This year we surveyed 183 parents; 156 students and 60 staff members.

The Survey results have been released, and I wanted to share a snapshot of the most positive items and the least positive and what our next steps might look like to improve confidence in our ability to be the best we can be. 

The data tells us that satisfaction rates from each grouping (Students, parents and staff) are high at around 91% that this is a good school. 

There are threads or themes from the feedback that will spark some immediate discussions in terms of the 2023 plan for improvement. As an educational leadership team, we will unpack all of the findings and work to strategise ways to improve the confidence of our community. 

World Staff Day & Milestone Awards

As part of World Staff Day, at last week's assembly, we celebrated the following staff members for their service milestones working for the Department of Education. A huge heartfelt congratulations to this year's milestone award recipients.  

Remembrance Day Friday 11 November

Remembrance Day is on this Friday. Wynnum State School will continue to join with others and make the commitment to pausing for just one minute to remember those who gave their lives in service to their country, those who returned home injured or ill, and those who bravely serve our country today.  We do this at school to encourage children to be mindful in their reflection and explore their unique intergenerational connection to past and present serving veterans to maintain a strong, enduring legacy. 

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

The Habit of Mind for the next fortnight is Thinking Flexibly. This Habit challenges us to look at a situation or problem another way. We can change perspectives, generate alternatives and consider options to find a solution. The online book to bbring Thinking Flexibly to life is ‘Animals should definitely not wear clothing’, written by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett. Fun fact – this is the team that brought us ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’. Enjoy!

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

Let’s Get Physical…Physical… Let’s get into Physical!

Our Prep physicists absolutely loved their hands-on investigation of Toys that Move! Throughout this investigation there were loud exclamations of Wonderment and Awe as each group tested the wide variety of toys and equipment.

Determined actions of Persistence were observed by group members (especially with the Hula Hoops!) as each scientist tested the train set, Mobilo construction, Hula Hoops, Cube Snake, block ramps with cars of all sizes and much more! Enjoy the very happy Science action photos below!

Physical fun (not even realising they were actually learning Science concepts 😊) continued with Year One feeling Good Vibration. Working interdependently to use balloons to talk through, a guitar to strum, cup and string telephones, tuning forks and triangles of different sizes. Partners explored how sound vibrations move through objects and how sounds of different pitch and volume happen. Many excellent predictions and observations occurred. Try talking into a balloon yourself and feel the vibes!

Science and Technology went hand in hand for Year Two with their project to design and build a model raft, with a focus on recyclable materials, sustainability and forces. In their home classes, students were prepared for the production task by learning about sustainability and recyclability of materials.

 Each scientist designed a labelled diagrammatic plan for their model raft and then used their design, and chosen materials, to create their raft in the Science Lab. Much Questioning and Problem Solving occurred during the process of raft construction. The Float test for each raft was very engaging and promoted great scientific thinking for responses on the reflection. Look at some of the fantastic designs and rafts!

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Is it Heating Up or cooling down for Year Three in the Science Lab? Thermometers were the tool of choice as classes measured temperature of a range of heated and cooled water. Safety protocols and Striving for Accuracy, when reading and recording temperature, was the priority for all young scientists in this investigation. Great work Year Three!

Library Buzz with Mrs Sutton and the Library Team

The very last and exciting issue of Scholastic Book Club, No 8 will be ready to distribute this week.  Great books and gifts for reading through the summer holidays and festive season!

Being the last issue for the year, we ask our families to place their orders on time, which will be…the 22^nd November.  Mrs Lakeman will be placing the orders promptly, so we receive our books in good time before the end of the school year.  Please mark if books are gifts, so your book orders can be held back for parents to pick up from the library.

I hope some of our P-2 students got to share with families last week’s shared book…Anemone is not the Enemy written and illustrated by Anna McGregor.  Everyone wants to have friends but I guess when you are a sea anemone, things can be a bit tricky.  We thought and discussed about how we make friends; do we introduce ourselves or wait for others to talk to us. Who knew that a Clownfish (Nemo to us) and anemone were the perfect match!  We covered lots of themes around friendship-building, difference, compatibility and loneliness.  This book has a special connection to some members of our staff, who bravely voiced the characters to make a most entertaining video of this book.  To Mrs Lawrence who voiced the Hermit crab (definitely the crowd favourite), oh how we laughed and cheered when you found yourself a new home!

A few more dates to highlight as we move into the final weeks of Term 4.

Week 7 beginning 14^th November will be the last borrowing week from the library for our students.  Our final day for all students’ library books to be returned, will be Friday the 25^th November.  Ms Sellars will be following up with emails to families who still have outstanding books after this time. 

Just keep reading Wynnum Warriors…

Mrs Sutton and the Library Team

Leadership 2023 with Miss Clark

As the Y5 Leadership Program comes to an end, the Y5 teaching time have been impressed by the pool of candidates for this year. These aspiring leaders have demonstrated an increased sense of maturity, responsibility and initiative throughout this process. We have observed growth, both in social and learning behaviours of these students.

It is my pleasure to congratulate the WYNNUM STATE SCHOOL Elected School Leaders for 2023. We thank you for the support and understanding you have shown during this time, and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for our leaders. CONGRATULATIONS!

Y5 Eureka Gold Fields Excursion with Miss Clark

On Thursday 3 November, our Year 5 students experienced a day on the ‘gold fields’. Set in thick bushland, the thriving, tented township was personalised for our students. The Year 5’s collaborated on a name for the town. The final result? Koogimpa – a combination of the three WSS houses. Businesses were active, licences were bought, and gold was sought and exchanged. An amazing day was had by all. EUREKA!

Teaching and Learning with Ms O'Donoghue (Head of Curriculum)

Learning outside!!

Play is the work of children!  In fact, it is vital for the learning of life skills, such as resilience, teamwork and creativity.  Quality outside activities influences how our children learn and behave in and out of the classroom, it effects their health and wellbeing and develops strong social skills. 

As parents and teachers, it is important to schedule some time outdoors.  Research tells us that our school-age children need about two to three hours of outdoor play each day.  It gives them a break from devices and improves their sleep and their mood.

Here are some suggestions for outside play.

- Have a scavenger hunt. You can look for specific objects or be a bit more general like: things that begin with the letter B, or something for each colour of the rainbow

- Do leaf rubbings. All you need are paper, crayons and any new leaves or plants you can find.

- Plant something. Get some flower or vegetable seeds and start your own garden.

- Make an obstacle course. Time each kid as they jump, roll, climb, step or go under the various obstacles. Added bonus: You can do this inside if needed.

- Get active. Play a game like twister or hopscotch, Simon Says or the freeze dance. Kids love when you play too!

- Learn something new. Try yoga, follow the leader or funny races (ball between knees, hold onto your ankles, walking backwards). Dance alone in your room or out in the front yard.

- Do the alphabet workout. Create an “exercise alphabet” by assigning an exercise to each letter of the alphabet. Then spell out your name, performing the exercise designated for each letter.

Lynda O’Donoghue

Head of Curriuclum

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

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

What’s going on: Why do we need maths? Lily Serna from ABC’s ‘Letters and Numbers’ shares the mathematics behind queuing at the supermarket around 36 minutes mark of the ABC Catalyst program.

Episode: The secret to making better decisions

https://iview.abc.net.au/video/SC1602H013S00

From the science of making choices to the solving power of algorithms, Mathematician Lily Serna looks at how the logic of mathematics can help you make better, smarter decisions.

We found it quite fascinating and we’d love to hear from you, especially if it changes your ‘queuing at the supermarket’ behaviour. hlent1@eq.edu.au

How did you go with ‘Have a go’ together: from Maths Team Challenge competition

 Answer: The clock dings 1092 times in one week.

 Answer: Mary will need to grab 27 socks to ensure she has a pair of red socks.

E&E – Jungle Adventure Play with Miss Clark & Mrs Brooks

Jungle Adventure Play is the place to be on a Friday afternoon for E&E! Over the past four weeks students have been immersed in risk taking and action-packed physical activities. Once they overcame the shaking knees and the adrenaline rush kicked in, students were seen jumping, flying and hanging upside down from 5 metre drops. Ninja Warrior here we come!

Cupcake Day with Student Council

Wynnum Warriors, hope you’re craving cupcakes because we have some exciting news for you! Wednesday the 23^rd of November is Cupcake Day! What is Cupcake Day? Well, I’m glad you asked. Some of you may remember Cupcake Day from last year, and its sprinkled success has brought it back this year.

Cupcake Day is a day where you get the opportunity to purchase a delicious cupcake! Each delicious delight costs only $4 and the proceeding go to the Student Council of 2023.

Payment is collected by the Student Council every morning at MEGA Central during weeks 6 and 7. Students will be able to collect their cupcakes on the Wednesday of week 8.

On the day, your homeroom teacher will give you a ticket if you have paid, to hand in to the Student Council members in exchange for your cupcake at MEGA Central during break time.

Hope you’re just as excited as we are and we look forward to you all enjoying your cupcakes!

-The Student Council

Koru Visual Art with Mrs Medcalfe

The Koru is often used in Maori art forms as a symbol of creation. It is based on the shape of an unfurling fern frond. The children experienced a range of art medium to draw koru using contemporary colours and the traditional Maori colours of red, white and black.

MKR E&E with Mrs Corten

MKR – Kids in the Kitchen

Students have been patiently waiting all year for E&E. MKR – Kids in the Kitchen we were looking forward to learning the skills to cook healthy, low-cost snacks and meals. Our first week we baked scrumptious ‘mini pizza’s’. Our new learning came in handy for all of our students to make for their friends and families at home. In week 2 we made mouth-watering and marvellous ‘sushi’. The equipment and ingredients we used were bamboo mat, steamed rice, cucumber, kewpie mayonnaise (Japanese mayonnaise), soya sauce, seaweed and teriyaki chicken or tuna. Some of us even dared to have wasabi on our sushi! In week 3 we baked mouth-watering Vegemite Scrolls. This was most of our students’ favourite cooking skill because it was our students first time making their very own dough. The first thing we did to make the dough was we add the water, flour, sugar, salt and yeast all into a bowl. Next, we kneaded the dough for 10 minutes and this feeling was very therapeutic. Lastly, we let the dough arise for 25 minutes with a tea towel and put it in the sun, and there you have it… your very own dough. Our last week, this Friday we’ll be making pasta with mince and vegetables. We’re all excited to follow the recipe and more importantly devour the flavours of spaghetti bolognaise.

Year 6 Students

Students have been waiting so long for this exciting experience and have been wanting to learn some new cooking skills. Most of our year 4, 5 and 6’s has been cooking magnificent food. During week 1 term 4 we baked scrumptious ‘mini pizza’s’. This new experience came in hand for all of our students to teach how to make for their friends and families. In week 2 term 4 we made mouth-watering ‘sushi’. The equipment and ingredient we used were bamboo mat, steamed rice, cucumber, kewpie mayonnaise (Japanese mayonnaise), soya sauce, seaweed and teriyaki chicken. In week 3 term 4 we baked mouth-watering “vegemite scrolls”. This was most of our students’ favourite cooking skill because it was our students first time making there very one dough. The first thing we did to making the dough was we added the water, flour, sugar, salt and yeast all into a bowl. Next, we kneaded the dough for 10 minutes and this feeling was very therapeutic. Lastly, we let the dough arise for 25 minutes with a tea towel and put it in the sun, and there you have it your very own dough.

Sincerely,

Atrina GHASEMIAN

P & C News

P&C News – Colour Run, Disco and last meeting for 2023

A huge thank you to everyone who fundraised and assisted with the Colour Run on Monday. A big thank you to our P&C President Sophia for organising and everyone who pitched in and helped out on the day. This is the school’s biggest fundraiser for the year and will enable the school to purchase new decodable readers for the library. It was a huge success, with over $20,000 raised so far. Please ensure all donations are finalised by Friday 11 November 2022.

The P&C and Student Council will be hosting the Wynnum SS Punk Rock Disco from 6pm – 8pm on Thursday 24 November 2022. Events like these rely on our community to assist in roles like serving in the canteen, cooking the BBQ, set up and pack down. Please consider whether you can spare an hour on the night to assist - https://signup.com/go/RSGeCNn

Due to the Disco, the last P&C Meeting for the year will be held on Wednesday 23 November 2022, from 7pm in the Outside School Hours Care Building. All are welcome and the Microsoft Teams Link will be sent to members within a week of the meeting date.

Tuckshop – Volunteers, Munch Monitors and ordering

The Tuckshop would greatly appreciate the support of our community, particularly on a Friday. The ladies are managing to get orders out, however, without volunteers there is no time to make apple slinkeys and it is difficult to serve over the counter orders. If you can volunteer, even an hour at service time (10:15am), it would be greatly appreciated. Please get in touch with June – wynnumss.tuckshop@gmail.com

The Tuckshop and Uniform Shop are about to commence transitioning from Flexi Schools to Munch Monitors. If you have money on your Flexi Schools account, now is the time to start running it down. We are hoping to be fully transitioned to Munch Monitors for the start of 2023.

To increase efficiencies in the Tuckshop, in 2023 any orders placed after 9am will be provided a late pack and will not have a choice from the full menu. Please remind your children to order their lunch before school.

As we approach the end of the school year, the Tuckshop will be running down stock. Substitute items may be given as supplies are depleted.

Finally, if you have any spare cup trays, please drop off at the Tuckshop as we are running low and would love to recycle them.

Absentee Line

To notify the school of your child's absence please text your childs name and reason for absence to 0429 467 361.

School Bus Services

Just a reminder that we have a bus service that runs from Wynnum State School. Below is a link to both services.

https://jp.translink.com.au/plan-your-journey/timetables/bus/T/815

https://jp.translink.com.au/plan-your-journey/timetables/bus/t/819/outbound/2022-05-31

A Go Card will need to be purchased to be able to utilise this Translink bus service. The following link lists retail outlets of where to purchase a Go card https://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/go-card/locations 

2022 School Term Dates

Term 4: Tuesday 4 October to Friday 9 December 

Upcoming Prep 2023 Transition Days

Additonal Uniform Shop Opening hours

The uniform shop will still be open for normal trading of Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoons until the end of Term 4. Please see below additional opening times 

Prep Transition Sessions

Tuesday 22 November, morning session: 8:00am – 9:30am

Tuesday 22 November, afternoon session: 2:30pm – 3:30pm

Thursday 24 November, morning session: 8:00am – 9:15am

Thursday 24 November, afternoon: 2:30pm – 3:30pm

January 2023

Tuesday 17: 9:00am to 12:30pm

Wednesday 18: 8:30am to 12:30pm

Thursday 19: 1:00pm to 5:30pm

Monday 23: 8:00am to 9:30am

Tuesday 24: 8:30am to 9:30am

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.  

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