Term 1 - 2024 Week 1 Newsletter

Principal's Message with Mr Ionn

Welcome to 2024

Congratulations to all our students and staff for such a smooth start to our 2024 academic school year at Wynnum State School.  I would like to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly welcome our new and existing students and families. 

The holiday season has been littered with a range of different and extreme weather events. As you may be aware, cyclone Kirrily is currently situated off the Queensland Coast and could potentially bring more rain to many parts of our community.

Emergency events can occur at any time. As good practice for these events and others, I ask you to ensure you have provided the school with up-to-date contact details, including mobile phone numbers and email addresses. In an event that requires a broad coverage of communication, this information is vital. 

Phones and Devices

From the beginning of 2024, all Queensland state school students will have their mobile phones and electronic devices such as smart watches switched off and ‘away for the day’. If your child chooses to bring a phone to school, they will be responsible for their phone during the school day, ensuring to hand in each morning and picking up in the afternoon.

'Away for the day' will support our school to maintain a strong focus on educational achievement, and student wellbeing and engagement by:

• providing optimal learning and teaching environments
• encouraging increased face-to-face social interactions between students
• promoting the health and wellbeing of students through increased physical activity at break times
• reducing the potential for students to be exposed to the negative impacts of the digital world, resulting from unsafe or inappropriate technology use.

As a parent or carer, you play an important role in supporting your child to engage with technology in safe and respectful ways. Parents can support schools to implement the 'away for the day' approach by:

• Talking with your child about the requirement to have their phone and or watch switched off and away for the day, and/or notifications disabled on wearable devices
• using the school's preferred communication method to contact your child during the day, such as phoning the school office
• encouraging your child to report to a staff member in the first instance if they become unwell or experience an issue during the school day
• raising questions about the school's local implementation approach with school staff
• establishing routines at home to help your child balance their use of devices and screen time.

Planning your Year

Plan your 2024 with the new school calendar and school planner (featuring the weeks of term). Visit the Education website’s calendar page to download or iCalendar to add dates to your device.

I look forward to catching up at the many different events we have during Term 1.  Here’s to the great start and a promising 2024.

Library Matters with Mrs Sutton and the Library Team

We are excited to be back!

All homerooms are scheduled for weekly library borrowing and your child’s teacher will share this information with you.  Library staff will be informing all students of our expectations in the library during this time.  

Preps, Years 1 & 2 students are required to bring their library bags to transport our precious books to home and back.  Help your child keep their library books in good condition and store away from food and drink especially in their school bags. 

Please learn your child’s library day and encourage them to return the book weekly and refresh with a new book.

Our fantastic library staff and ICT technicians look forward to the year ahead. 

Just keep reading…

Scholastic Book Club News for 2024…

We hope our WSS families take the opportunity to enjoy the great selection of popular titles, amazing value, and engaging content in our new Bigger, and Better Book Club News!  All students will receive a Scholastic brochure to peruse regularly throughout the year.

The library is happy to take book orders with correct money attached...or take the easy opportunity to order on line (see advertisement above). 

The first book orders close on February 8^th.

ANZAC Day

P-2 Science and Technology with Mrs Crowe

A very big welcome back for 2024! Prep to Year Two will be learning both Science and Technology in the Junior P-2 Lab.

Our P-2 scientists will be totally immersed in Biological Sciences throughout Term One.

Prep: Growing Well (Needs of Living Things)

Year One: Dinosaurs and More (Characteristics of Living Things and their suitable habitats)

Year Two: Watch it Grow (Life Cycles)

Our young biologists will participate in investigations of the characteristics of living things and their needs for growth.

Life cycles will be actively observed through hands-on investigations of live specimens in the P-2 Science Lab. A Cricket House, Mealworm Discovery Tray, Butterfly Chrysalis, fish tanks and our special Zebra Finches, “Zippy and Zappy” for all to care for and learn from!

Preps will learn about the needs of a plant through planting seeds, and caring for their own plant while observing plant growth. They will record the five needs of a plant on their own ‘Plant Tag’.

World Frog Day will be celebrated on Wednesday, March 20 (Week Nine) to raise awareness of frog species and how we can protect them. The children always hop into all the frog experiences with great enthusiasm. They especially love observing our ‘live’ frogs in their frog terrarium habitat! A very HOPPY way to finish the term learning in Biological Sciences!

Technology lessons for Semester One will focus on Digital Technologies. (Semester Two is Design Technologies). P-2 classes will engage in fortnightly lessons that engage students in the following learning:

Prep: Early coding with Beebots, Osmo, and Ipad programs integrated in science lessons.

Year One and Two: Learning how to use hardware and software. Log on practice and introduction to programs using laptops and Ipad apps that enhance class learning.

I cannot wait to engage the Prep to Two classes in Biological Sciences and Digital Technology in Term One 2024!

Inclusion Matters

Colourful New Mural Unveiled in Our Newest Supported Play Space!

We are thrilled to announce the unveiling of a vibrant new mural in one of our newest Supported Play spaces. This evolving space has been created around student's personal and social capabilities, supporting them through play to recognise and regulate emotions, develop empathy for others, understand relationships, and handle challenging situations constructively.

Brought to life with the help of local Brisbane artist Bradley Laughren, this space features cheerful illustrations in a kaleidoscope of colours. The process of bringing this mural to life involved collaboration between the artist and the ideas of our students.

We welcome this exciting new addition to our school!

Samantha Hind

Inclusion Support Teacher

Guidance Officer Message with Mrs Manning

Welcome to the 2024 school year. I trust you’ve all had a restful and rejuvenating break. I am very excited to be back and are looking forward to working with students and families. Student wellbeing is at the core of what we do and this year we start the journey in support of our students’ wellbeing with a Brainstorm Productions show called ‘Being Brave’.

 ‘Being Brave’ is a live educational theatre performance that gives students positive strategies to cope with emotions and deal with bullying, change, loss and other challenges.

The show introduces Fly – a young boy whose parents have separated. He misses his dad desperately and tries to be brave by keeping his emotions ‘bottled up’. He meets Isha, who has been forced to come to a new country. Celia is coming to terms with loss in her family. Mrs Russo wants to connect safely with her family online, Tim is being bullied and Billie needs to face her fears. By connecting with the people in his community, Fly discovers the true meaning of being brave: sharing stories, showing feelings, keeping good memories and living life. ‘Being Brave’ is part of our student wellbeing curriculum and has been developed by teachers and psychologists. This engaging live performance addresses student wellbeing issues with sensitivity and provides students with practical skills for resilience, help-seeking and positive connections. Brainstorm Productions is one of Australia’s most experienced and respected theatre in education companies, performing to over 260,000 students every year. They offer a range of programs to help schools nurture healthy and harmonious environments and are endorsed by the eSafety Commissioner as a Trusted eSafety Provider. Learn more about Brainstorm Productions by visiting their website: brainstormproductions.edu.au.

Please be in touch with the school if you have any questions. I wish you all a great 2024.

Musical Notes with Mrs Barnes (Performing Arts teacher)

Welcome all,

There are exciting things planned for the music program this year. Junior choir, senior choir, and senior band start this term, with junior band beginning in Term 2. These will all be held in the Music Room, please see the below schedule for times.

Choir Schedule

Junior Choir (Week 3) – Monday 8:00am to 8:40am
Senior Choir (Week 3) – Wednesday 8:00am to 8:40am

Band Schedule

Junior Band (beginning Term 2, Week 1) – Tuesday 7:50am to 8:40am

Senior Band (Week 2) – Tuesday 3:00pm to 3:45pm

Yours in music!

Sports Report with Mr Blair

For those families who are new to the school, my name is Haydn Blair and I am the Physical Education Specialist teacher. For Term 1 we are commencing swimming in week 2 (29^th Jan)- which can't come soon enough with this heat!  Students are required to bring swimmers, a towel, goggles, a swim cap and a swim bag. Swimming notes were handed out to students this week. Please ensure they are returned to the homeroom teacher as soon as possible. No permission = No swimming.

During swimming, we will be focusing on aquatic safety, sculling, treading water and floating skills, different stroke techniques and entries and exits in different situations. The ultimate goal is to increase the swimming and water safety skills of all students. For the seniors of the school, we will also be performing some survival sequences and learn safety rules for a range of aquatic environments. I will be working with our amazing Bayside Swim School teachers, whom will be supporting students’ aquatic confidence and efficacy.

Below is a table displaying the days different classes will have swimming.

I am excited to be working with our new Sports Co-ordinator Beau Singleton this year and his support in the sporting environment will lead to some exciting experiences for Wynnum’s students. Stay tuned!

2024 District Sport Information

 Please find information regarding the 2024 District and Regional Sporting Calendar.

 These teams are trialled out of school hours at varied venues and it is your own responsibility if you wish to attend.

 If you are interested in trialling for a district team the process is below:

• Mark in your calendar when your trial will take place (dates are subject to change)
• Check to see if you qualify for the criteria: students who have prior experience playing sport at a representative level- either through school and or through club (must be Division 1 or equivalent) and have demonstrated a high level of performance of a wide range of skills specific to the sport, they should be encouraged to apply for the district team.
• Inform Mr Blair your interest in attending and trialling.
• Understand school trials will need to occur pending on interested participants.
• Collect paperwork prior to your trial from Mr Blair.

District Sport Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bayside-District-School-Sport-111228100234264

District Sport Website information: https://meteastschoolsport.eq.edu.au/district-sport/our-districts/bayside

P&C News

🎉 Munch Monitors 2024 Ready! Log in now to update your child's class for the new year at Munch Monitors. Attention parents of Year 2 students: Your little ones can now stroll down to the tuckshop for their lunch orders. Remind them to embrace this new responsibility and savor their delicious meals.

🚀 Membership Renewal Time! Become a member or renew your membership for exciting P&C perks. Just click here to join or renew. 🌐

👨‍🏫 Professional Development Boost! Thanks to Angus Gorrie, P&C Vice President and Outsiders Play Advocates Consultant, for an insightful Professional Development session. Watch this space for more details on the P&C Play Project at Wynnum State School. 🎭

🎁 Donations Wanted! Have extra Christmas presents or vouchers? We're on the lookout for raffle prizes. Ensure they're new and unused, and non-perishable for food items. Your contributions make a difference! 🎟️

🍲 Mega-Bite Cafeteria Support Support our Mega-Bite cafeteria by donating essential items. Drop off your new and unused items like flour, oats, and more on Monday or Tuesday mornings at the Mega-Bite Cafeteria. Your generosity fuels our school community. 🥣

Stay tuned for more exciting updates and ways to get involved! 🌈

Qparents

Have you downloaded the Qparents app?

QParents is a secure, online portal that has been created to provide parents/carers of Queensland state school students with 24-hour access to their child's information.

Qparents allows you to securely access information about your child and communicate directly with your child's school.

Features of Qparents:

• attendance details
• report cards
• invoices
• payment history
• excursion permissions

Currently we have roughly 80 percent of parents/carers on Qparents. If you haven’t already made an account with Qparents, new invitation codes have just been emailed home.

Any further questions please contact the school office.

Lindum Station Upgrade

School Facebook Page

Please visit the page via this link https://www.facebook.com/WynnumStateSchool  and click Like!

Absentee Line

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

2024 School Term Dates

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 

Community News

Chess Mates