Wynnum State School eNewsletter

Message from our Principal Dr. Mark Ionn

Second Half of Term 2

Stepping back into our wonderful school grounds after my period of leave, I’m reminded once again of the vibrant spirit, resilience, and commitment that defines our students, staff, and families.

During my absence, our school continued to thrive under the capable leadership of Ms Megan Connell and the executive leadership team. I want to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt thanks to Ms Connell, as well as Ms Anderson and Mr Henville for backing behind the Deputy Principal role, enacting this with such professionalism, care, and dedication.

As we move forward into the second half of the term, I am excited reconnecting with our exciting rollout of PBL and celebrating achievements yet to come.

During my leave, my family enjoyed our ‘big’ road trip of the iconic Route 66. I have to say that it was more just a road trip: it was a journey through time, culture, and the heart of America. We met locals who shared stories passed down for generations, discovered small-town treasures we never expected, and felt the nostalgic pull of a bygone era and the interesting days yet to come for the U.S.! Driving through nine States and thousands of kilometres, it was nice just to cruise down the interstate with nothing but the hum of the tyres (an extraordinary number of trucks) and the open sky above. However, there is no place like home! Thank you for all the warm return comments.

Our P&C

During the period between newsletters, schools have spoken about the quality role P&C’s make in the life of a school community. I wanted this week to shout out to our P&C. So far this year, our P&C has contributed significant funds towards the school, allowing us to make valuable and much needed improvements. One such investment was the injection of funds to support our whole school rollout of new smartboards in every classroom.

However, raising funds is only one key aspect, our P&C plays a significant role in building our collective culture, engaging volunteers and their time and expertise to fundraise, run business such as the tuckshop and uniform shop, host events (like our upcoming disco) and build opportunities to engage the wider Wynnum community.

We know that parental engagement improves learning and wellbeing outcomes for students, and P&Cs provide an ideal opportunity for parents and carers to get involved in their child’s school and maintain these benefits all the way through their learning journey.

I want to thank the P&C and all of you who support them for these generous contributions of funds and time and look forward to an enduring and long positive relationship into the future.

PBL Focus Week 7&8

Wynnum State School’s weeks 7 & 8 PBL focus is ‘We are safe when we transition quietly, safely and promptly.

National Reconciliation Week

This week at Wynnum State School, we pause to reflect and learn about National Reconciliation Week. The 2025 theme, “Bridging Now to Next,” invites us to honour the past, engage with the present, and work collectively towards a more inclusive future. It reminds us that reconciliation is an ongoing journey, requiring commitment, understanding, and action from us all. Our students and staff are engaging in meaningful learning experiences to deepen their understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. We’re proud to be part of a community that values connection, truth-telling, and taking steps towards a more united future.

Library Matters with Mrs Sutton & The Library Team

National Simultaneous Storytime Wrap Up… WSS along with another 2 million children from over 16,632 locations listened to the author Deborah Frenkel read the book “The Truck Cat.” Other participants joined from a huge range of countries across Australia, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vanuatu, Vietnam.

We also celebrated the event in the library, with some great activities facilitated by our fabulous Student Council Members. Our Preppies didn’t miss out either, because they went on a Tinka the cat hunt in their sandpit. Enjoy the photos from the day.

Just keep reading…

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

Our P-3 Science Lab BUZZED all day, with true Wonderment and Awe, as early year classes explored the many interactive experiences, to learn about Australian native bees, solitary bees and European honeybees!

Continuous Questioning and Problem Posing and Gathering Data through all Senses occurred at every BEE station. Our Prep (in their gorgeous hand-made bee hats) to Year Three entomologists tasted a range of honey from the local area, observed authentic native bee equipment and investigated First Nations people’s ways of finding and using ‘Sugarbag’ honey.

All were engaged excitedly in bee-related educational puzzles, games, books and coding with Bee bots. Visiting classes also learnt the ‘Waggle Dance’ bees use to communicate how to find pollen and food sources. So much fun learning the dance!

Interested students from Years 4-6 visited during the breaks to enjoy honey tasting and feel the BUZZ while investigating the learning stations focused on the importance of bees for our survival. Enjoy these photos!

Share the Dignity now at Wynnum SS

The Queensland Government shares a passion with Share the dignity to foster positive educational outcomes and alleviate emotional distress for students in need, by allowing them to focus on their education rather than on accessing supplies to manage their period. The Share the Dignity in Queensland schools initiative is proudly sponsored by the Queensland Government to help end period poverty. Wynnum SS has been lucky enough to have a vending machine installed this week in the girls MEGA toilets. The Dignity Vending Machine is a world-first innovation that dispenses a free period pack at the push of a button. Share the Dignity purchase and supply the specially made period packs in the Dignity Vending Machines. There are two types of period packs available – one containing 6 tampons and two pads (mixed), and the other containing three pads (pad-only).

Student News

On Wednesday, 18 June (Week 9), the Student Council will be hosting a fundraiser called ‘The Decider’.

The date coincides with the second game of State of Origin and students are invited to dress up. But not just in their State of Origin uniforms, students can dress up in any of their favourite sport/code uniforms, including e-sports.

All that is required is that students bring a gold coin donation and that the clothes are sun safe.

Monies raised will go towards our end of year Give Back Day/Gift to the School.

David

On behalf of Student Council

2026 Prep Enrolment's Open Now!

2025_ENROLMENT_FLYER_13.03.pdf

P&C News

Thank you to everyone who attended our last P&C meeting at Wynnum Bowls Club, it was a very relaxed evening of ideas and discussion.

We'd like to take this opportunity to introduce and welcome back some old friends, to our Executive Committee.

Treasurer - Kate Austin

Assistant Treasurer - Tim Eltham

Vice President - Angus Gorrie

Secretary - Kacey-Jo Hose

Also, our Social Media Lead - Priya Lochan & Volunteer Engagement and Event Lead - Athanasia Price. We are lucky to have such a dedicated and supportive committee.

UPCOMING EVENTS

🐙🐟TRIVIA NIGHT🧜🌊Save the date Saturday the 9th of August 2025. You heard it here first, the date has been set for our biggest fundraising night of the year. Get ready to dive deep! We can't wait to see you all at our Under the Sea Trivia Night. More information soon.

The next P&C meeting is being held on the 19th June 2025 at the school, Admin Block for a 6.30pm start. See you then.

From our PCYC

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.

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