Wynnum State School eNewsletter

Principal's Message with Mr Ionn

With only days of this term remaining, it is so wonderful to be able to complement how well our Wynnum Warriors have settled into a productive period of learning engagement, academic performance and connection to our school expectations and culture.

I’ve had opportunities to observe and hear confident, connected and engaged learners who are taking charge of their own learning.

We are entering into an exciting phase for our school through the next phase of PBL (Positive Behaviour for Learning), placing a high priority on explicitly teaching our schoolwide expectations and recognising individuals for living and breathing these expectations in new ways.

Term 2 brings a new fortnightly focus across the school in relation to the expectation we want to reinforce. New Wynnum State School Warrior tokens can be earned by Warriors for demonstrating these expectations and celebrated at assemblies through certificates and awards.

Whole school assemblies will increase in number, with an added mid-term assembly, as well as greater precinct assemblies throughout the term. Promoting these behaviours has a huge impact on developing learner agency not just in primary school but into their future schooling and beyond.

Staffing Updates

There will be a number of staffing changes in Term 2. I am on long service leave for the first 4 weeks of Term 2. Ms Megan Connell will be the Acting Principal during this time. Behind Ms Connell’s Prep to Year 3 Deputy Principal role, two staff members have been appointed to the Acting Deputy Principal role:

Mrs Donna Anderson (Week 1&2)
Mr Grant Henville (Week 3&4)

Please don’t hesitate to contact the office from where you will be directed to the right person.

P&C Update - 2025

The Wynnum State School P&C recently undertook the Annual General Meeting. It is a great time of the year for me to reflect on not only how the P&C contributes to our school programming, but the combination of events and cultural partnerships builds a strong and cohesive school community.

Members of the P&C are incredibly generous with their time and energy, as dedicated volunteers adding value and enrichment experiences for our Wynnum Warriors. From our much-loved Wynnum Wahoos, the Tuckshop and Uniform Shop and all the events for children such as the Fun Run; Disco and for the older kids, the Trivia Night to name a few, all of these experiences ensure a strong sense of belonging and positivity for all members of our village, with a keen eye for sustainable improvement long into the future.

At the AGM, I expressed my sincere thanks to all members of our School’s P&C for their generosity of time, commitment to and investment in our school for the continued benefit of our the most important people in our community… our kids.

In particular, I would like to thank our 2024 Executive Team – for the countless hours you have contributed both in recognised capacities and the countless hours and conversations that have occurred behind the scenes. Thank you.

I am thrilled to announce the Executive Team, led again by president elect Mrs Vanessa Maguire into the 2025 school year.

I am very much looking forward to the work we will do collectively and seeing the fruition of the platform set in 2024.

Final Words

I’m looking forward to visiting our year 6 students on camp in Week 10.

Wishing you all well for the end of term and over the Easter break.

See you all on my return in May.

2026 Prep Enrolment's Open Now!

2025_ENROLMENT_FLYER_13.03.pdf

Coming up!

Early departure process

All early pick-ups require parents or carers to come into the office to sign out their child, at which point they will receive an early departure slip. After signing out and collecting the slip, parents or carers will then collect their child directly from the classroom. Families with regular, pre-scheduled appointment times that have been communicated to the class teacher may continue with their existing arrangements. This process allows teachers to continue lessons without interruption and ensures students can remain engaged in learning until the end of the school day at 2:45 pm. Thank you for your cooperation and support on our school procedures.

Bike & Scooter Safety

To help keep our community safe, we kindly ask all families to remind their children to walk their bike or scooter while on school grounds. For everyone's safety, students should not ride until they have exited the school grounds and are clear of pedestrians and vehicles in the car park.

Library Matters with Mrs Sutton & The Library Team

A huge thank you to our WSS teachers and families who purchase Scholastic books twice a term. Every time you participate in a Scholastic offering, our school is rewarded! Scholastic Rewards were created as a form of currency as a way to give back to schools. Every time you participate in a Scholastic offering, our School is rewarded! For every Book Club order that is placed, Scholastic gives back 15% of the total order spend to our school as Scholastic Rewards. This is quickly converted into new books for our school library. Again, thank you.

ANZAC Day

Anzac Day is fast approaching and it marks an important time to remember and respect one of the most important historical dates in our country’s calendar.

Anzac Day traditions are widely practised throughout Australia and New Zealand and include wearing a sprig of rosemary and attending a Dawn Service or Anzac Day march, baking Anzac biscuits, enjoying a gunfire breakfast, and playing a game of two-up. You might be interested in this picture of …

The First Anzac Day parade in Brisbane…

This is a black-and-white photograph of the first Anzac Day march, held in Brisbane on 25 April 1916 to mark the first anniversary of the landing of the Australian and New Zealand troops on Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey

The photograph was taken outside Brisbane’s General Post Office in Queen Street. It shows soldiers on horseback who are watched by a large crowd lining the street and crammed into the balconies of the surrounding buildings. The building is festooned with flags and pennants and a banner that reads ‘ENLIST NOW’.

The proposal to commemorate the Anzacs at Gallipoli originated in Queensland and was quickly taken up by the other states.

Wearing rosemary, valued since ancient times for its believed ability to improve memory - a sprig of rosemary is worn every Anzac Day as a symbol of remembrance following WW1. Rosemary is traditionally pinned to lapels or medals on Anzac Day.

Native to the Mediterranean coast, rosemary grows wild on the slopes of the Gallipoli peninsula. As the tale goes, a wounded digger brought home a small rosemary bush from Anzac Cove. He planted it in the grounds of the Army Hospital at Keswick, South Australia, and cuttings from that bush have been used to propagate rosemary plants across Australia.

Since then, Australians and New Zealanders have worn sprigs of rosemary on Anzac Day in memory of the fallen.

Our library has a number of Anzac Day books written specifically with our young people in mind. Here are some of the ones that you may want to explore with your children in the lead up to Anzac Day.

Just keep reading everyone…

P-2 Science with Mrs Crowe

‘World Frog Day’ was hopping with heaps of frog learning in the P-3 Science Lab for our WSS ‘World Frog Day’ celebration day 2025. Excited biologists from all year levels used magnifying glasses to study a pair of living green tree frogs; investigated frog blood cells under microscopes; sequenced the stages of the frog life cycle using models in a pond display and enjoyed frog finger puppets and books to celebrate frogs in so many ways.

Observing ’live’ crickets and mealworms in their mini habitats, and feeding the frogs, created moments of absolute wonderment and awe! Reading frog books and listening to local frog calls calmed the young minds. Enjoy the photos of our frog fanatics! Preps looked so good in their frog hats!

Yesterday, during our Week 9 assembly, we had the opportunity to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our Wynnum students who have excelled in sports at the district, state, and national levels.

A huge congratulations to Abel K, Maezie E, Isla W, Memphis W, and Mavyxx M, who were selected to compete in the Māori QLD Touch Tournament in Hamilton, New Zealand. Their dedication and hard work have earned them this incredible opportunity.

Our Bayside District Swimming representatives—Lola B, Lena W, Jack H, Emily P, and Elissa C—delivered outstanding performances in the 50m pool. A special mention to Lena W, who advanced beyond Met East and secured a spot at the state-level competition.

In AFL, Evie D, Sienna F, and Millie G showcased their talent and determination, earning selection for the District Team. Meanwhile, in rugby, Maddox A, Quincy B, and Rhikai A, made the 12-year-old Rugby District Team, while Abel K and Lennox C secured places in the 10s and 11s Rugby District Team.

We also want to recognise Azayah P who deserves a special mention for his remarkable achievement—earning a spot on the Australian Futsal Team!

Congratulations to all our students who represented Wynnum at the district level and beyond. Your commitment, sportsmanship, and achievements make our school community incredibly proud!

Guidance Officer Message with Nathaly Manning

Nathaly_online_safety.pdf

Cyberbullying_eSafety_resource.pdf

Sports Report with Mr Blair (PE teacher)

2025 District Sport Information:

Please find information regarding the 2025 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 and return paperwork prior to your trial from Mr Blair/Ms Gibbons.

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

CALENDAR_2025_Bayside_District_School_Sport.pdf

Lately in Year 2!

In history, the Year 2 students have been learning about how changes to technology over time have made our lives easier. The students have explored various topics such as communication, cooking and transport. The Year 2 team would like to say a huge THANK YOU to Mr Ionn and Mr Eric who took part in our annual 'MOWER RACE OFF' last Friday. The students were thrilled to see Mr Ionn and Mr Eric race their mowers and see the different machines in action. Mr Ionn put in a valiant effort with his push mower, but it was Mr Eric who won on the day with his speedy ride on machine!

School Watch

The School Watch program encourages everyone to look out for and report any after-hours crime in our schools.

Empty schools can become targets for unlawful entry, arson, stealing, graffiti and property damage, especially during school holiday periods. This comes at a cost to the whole community and not just the financial cost of repairs.

The School Watch program is a partnership between the Department of Education and Protective Services Group, Queensland Police Service, providing a way for members of the community to report anything they see that is suspicious, even if it seems minor.

On average, more than 700 calls are made to School Watch every year, helping to keep our schools safe.

Look, Listen, Report. Call School Watch on 13 17 88.

If you see a crime in progress, call Triple Zero (000).

https://www.qld.gov.au/education/schools/information/school-watch

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 been emailed home this week.

For any additional questions, feel free to contact the school office at 3893 5111 or visit our administrative team in person, who will be happy to assist you with the setup.

P&C News

P&C AGM UPDATE

The P&C AGM last week, provided a moment to reflect on the P&C’s 2024 successes. The President’s report highlighted key standouts such as:

Cookie dough drive
Mother’s Day stall
School Disco
Parent Trivia Night
Father’s Day stall
Containers for change
Colour fun run

It is through the substantial efforts of the P&C Executive team, members and our volunteers that any of this is possible. After such a successful year, the P&C are excited for what is to come in 2025!

2025 New Executive Team:

President: Vanessa Maguire

Vice President: Ashley Woodbury

Vice President: Emily Thompson

Secretary: Will be confirmed the May 2025 P&C General Meeting

Treasurer: Will be confirmed the May 2025 P&C General Meeting

Next general meeting date: 15 May 2025, 6.30pm

TERM 1 HIGHLIGHTS

The Wynnum Wahoo's Swim club’s new scoreboard is taking pride of place at the pool! It has been a team effort to make this happen over the last couple of seasons and is a fantastic addition to the club. A massive thanks to everyone involved in making this happen!

SAVE THE DATE!

Mother’s Day stall Wednesday 7th May – Friday 9th May

School Disco: Thursday 29th May

Parent Trivia Night: Saturday 9th August

If you are able to assist with any of the above events, remember many hands make light work! Please feel free to contact any members of the P&C or email wynnumss.pandc@gmail.com.

A Friendly Reminder from Mega-Bite Cafeteria

Did you know that our wonderful tuckshop team lovingly prepares meals to keep our kids nourished and ready to learn? To help everything run smoothly, please remind your children to collect their ordered tuckshop.

Food Safety Matters
For the health and safety of all students, hot food cannot be stored overnight if it is not collected. It’s important that all food is picked up and enjoyed during the allocated break times.

What Happens if Food is Forgotten?
If a child forgets to collect their meal, the tuckshop staff will wait for five minutes after the class-time bell before notifying their teacher. We know how valuable learning time is, so this is only done as a last resort.Thank you for your cooperation in helping us make sure every student gets their meal on time. If you have any questions, please contact our Tuckshop Manager at wynnumss.tuckshop@gmail.com.

School Facebook Page

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

School Bus Services

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

PDF Details

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Term 1 - 2025 Week 9 Newsletter