Goondi SS Newsletter 9th June 2021
From the Prinicpal
Dear Parents and Carers,
Next week, we will be holding our 2021 Inter-House Athletics Carnival. Our students will be competing in events throughout the day. Families are welcome to attend but we do require the QR code to be scanned on mobile phones so that we can comply with COVIDsafe regulations. On the day, students will be required to bring lunches as normal. It will be good to be able to hold the carnival this year after not being able to go ahead in 2020. In Term 3, the Inter-School Athletics Carnival will be held at Goondi. Food will be available at that event as the Goondi P&C will be holding a sausage sizzle and cake stall.
As we head into the final few weeks of the term, our staff have been working very hard in assessing each child’s learning progress so far this year and writing comments in preparation for the Semester 1 Student Reports. Due to the recent network outages our school was experiencing reports will be sent home on Friday of Week 1, Term 3, July 16th.
It is very easy to simply focus on the achievement ratings on your child’s report card. These are the levels that your child has achieved based on testing and assessments conducted this semester. We urge you however, to pay particular attention to the Effort Rating.
Research indicates that students, who are praised for effort, rather than achievement, continue to improve in their learning and are less likely to give up when work becomes difficult. If your child comes home with a report card that shows effort ratings of “Excellent” and “Very Good” make sure that you praise them for their efforts.
At Goondi, we highly encourage parents to sit with their children to determine areas upon which to focus for improvement and decide upon strategies for working together to achieve set goals for learning. These goals could be academic or social/emotional in nature. Some students and parents might plan around improving skills in numeracy, reading and writing, while others may form a plan around managing their emotions or social interactions with friends.
Whatever the goal focus, these are things that students can plan, aim for and feel success once achieved.
Regards,
Peter Begemann
Principal
School Calendar
TERM 2 CALENDAR
School Events
Mon 21st Jun – P&C Meeting at 5:30pm
Wed 23rd Jun – Spell-a-thon sponsorship due back
Fri 25th Jun - Spell-a-thon Parade
Sport Events
Wed 16th Jun – Inter-House 200, 800m, shotput
Fri 18th Jun – Inter-House Athletics Carnival
Other School News
PREP ENROLMENTS FOR 2022
This year we will be once again offering our Pre-Prep Program and a number of transition and information sessions for prospective Prep students and parents to ensure that our 2022 Prep students have the best possible start to their formal education at Goondi State School.
Is your child, or a child you know, eligible for Prep next year? We are taking enrolments from new students and students who have brothers or sisters attending Goondi State School. They will automatically be offered a place in our 2022 Prep classes.
We are also taking Expressions of Interest for children who live out-of-catchment and want to attend Goondi State School. If there are vacancies, these students will also be offered a place in our 2022 Prep classes.
Come to the office as soon as possible with your child’s details to complete an Expression of Interest form even if you are in-catchment. Our Pre-Prep program will begin in late August.
INTER-HOUSE ATHLETICS - 200m, 800m and Shot put Events
The 200m, 800m and shot put events for 9-12 year old students will be held on Wednesday 16th June. The morning will commence at 9:00 AM with the 9 year old 200m event and conclude with the 800m event. Students are not to wear house colours on this day.
Athletics Carnival
Our Inter-House Carnival will be held on Friday 18th of June. Please make every effort to arrive at school on time to ensure that no student misses an early event. The program for the day is as follows:
8:50am - Students assemble in houses on the oval
9:00am - Start
- Age sprints (5yrs – 12yrs)
- Tug-o-war ( Junior and Senior teams)
- Morning Break (10:30 AM – 11:00 AM)
- Field Events (9yrs - 12yrs) and Year 1-3 ball games
- Field Events (9yrs – 12yrs) and Year 1-3 relays
- Afternoon Break (12:30 – 1:00 PM)
- Ball games Year 4-6 and Year 1-3 field events
- Relays (9-12yrs)
- All age relay
- Parent/Staff relay – If time allows
- Presentations
- Clean up and dismissal
Students should wear house colours on the carnival day. House colours are as follows:
Geraldton – yellow
Palmerston – red
Johnstone – green
Parents are reminded that Friday is a normal school day and all students are required to attend for the full day. If you need to take your child from school early, due to illness or other family commitments, the normal procedures apply and you will have to call in at the office and sign your child out.
Participation and Selection
Our Inter-House Carnival is very much focused on “maximum participation”. The program is structured in such a way that all students have an opportunity to participate in most events. All students take part in sprints, field events and ball games. The aim of the day is participation and students score points for their house when they participate in an event.
When it comes to the District Athletics Carnival however, our aim is to select the best possible athletes and teams to represent the school. We use results from our Inter-House Carnival as a basis for selection, but in the case where a student who has athletic potential is absent from the carnival due to illness/injury or having to represent the school or district at another event, the school has a policy of conducting a trial or runoff at a later stage to determine if the student is eligible for selection.
REPORT CARDS
Report cards will be sent home in the last week of term on Tuesday 22nd June. As always, you are encouraged to make an appointment with your child’s teacher if you wish to discuss any aspect of the report card. If the report card recommends an interview, then it is critical that you make every effort to contact your child’s teacher and make an interview appointment early next term.
RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION
This year, Religious Instruction is offered to our Years 1-2 students in Term 3. Students will be placed in religious instruction classes according to religious instruction consent on enrolment paperwork.
Parents and carers are reminded that religious instruction is not compulsory. Information will be sent home shortly with details of the religious instruction available at this school.
At any time parents/carers can provide written instruction to the principal to change their preference for their child to participate in or be withdrawn from religious instruction.
Student of the Week
Week 7
Prep Capers
With only three weeks until the end of the term we have been super busy doing lots of assessment. The children will be retelling the story "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" for their writing assessment. For example: “First, he ate a juicy red apple. Next, he ate two yummy green pears. Then, he ate three sweet purple plums.” We are really looking forward to seeing what the children can independently write.
Away from assessment, we will be looking at how we can stay safe on the internet. When students use the internet it is important that they put on their internet thinking cap! There are five things we can do to stay safe when using the internet: always ask an adult, stick to places that are safe, only talk to people you know, never share personal information and if it doesn’t feel right (butterflies in your tummy) then tell someone.
Report cards will be sent home Week 10. When you receive them if you have any questions about your child’s report card please see Angela, Tess/Priscilla and Kath.
This week is Spell-a-thon week. All students are doing a fabulous job chopping, blending and writing the words! They really want to get 50 out of 50 and receive a 100% Spell-a-thon medal! The prizes will be drawn the last day of Term – so keep your child’s Spell-a-thon envelope at home until Week 10, Wed 23rd June.
On Monday the 21st of June (Week 10) Prep will be going on an excursion to Daradgee Environmental Education Centre. Over the next coming weeks we will be sending home some paperwork. If you wish for your child to participate in the activity, please complete the necessary paperwork and return them to Angela, Tess/Priscilla and Kath. We are all very excited about our big day out!
Kind regards: Angela, Anita, Tess, Priscilla, Amanda, Kath and Cassie
Year 1 Capers
Week 8 is another important week for Year 1 as testing continues for English and Maths. The writing assessment task about the Rainbow Fish has been completed and we were very impressed with some of the imaginative sentences and vocabulary choices students came up with.
Congratulations goes to all of the students who participated in the Spell-a-thon this year. We saw many students achieve 100/100 and we were extremely impressed with the number of students who improved out of sight from their pre test. A big thankyou to all parents for helping your child learn their words at home.
In Science, testing of our boats will begin this week. Students are certainly very excited to see how many marbles their boat will hold and whose boat will be the winning boat!
The Geography assessment task required the students to put their town planner hats on and design a park that catered for children, adults and the elderly whilst also including natural, built and managed features. This has certainly been an enjoyable task for all students.
Have a great week!
Leigh, Hayley and Fiona
Year 2 Capers
This fortnight in English we have been writing Information Reports about platypuses and are about to begin on our assessment on the kookaburra. We have been working hard on each of our paragraphs and labelled diagrams.
In Maths we begin our assessment for the week and continue to revise time to the quarter hour, money, place value, 3D shapes and problem solving.
We have also been learning about Uluru in our HASS unit. We have begun by posing questions and learning some introductory information.
Thank you to all our families who worked hard with their children on their Spell-a-thon words. We were very impressed with the results across Year 2.
All our best, Miss Mollenhagen, Mrs Sardi, Mrs Hollywood and Mrs Spataro.
Year 3 Capers
We are in the midst of reporting time, which means testing time to gather data on students’ progress. Thank you to Year 3 for striving to do your very best throughout the numerous tests.
Our Maths tests are almost finished with only our number facts tests to go. These will reveal how much students have improved with speed and accuracy in their recall. After this we will revise and reteach misunderstood concepts and take a look at rounding numbers.
In English, students are doing well with their poetry writing. Each stanza shows rich vocabulary with descriptive adjectives and exciting verbs. Once students write their own poem, they will present it to the class as their oral speech.
Our Science unit is now completed but we are still working on our HASS and Technology units. How is the research and poster building going for HASS? During class the students have been very motivated and keen to use the computers for their research.
Until next time,
Robyn, Janelle, Paula and Jackie.
Year 3/4 & 4 Capers
With only 3 weeks left of school, the countdown to school holidays begins! However, we still have much to do before the celebrations start. We are currently completing our end of term assessments for Mathematics and English. We are also completing our Science assignment ‘The Great Egg Drop Challenge’ in which students must design a contraption to save an egg from breaking when dropped from an elevated platform. Therefore, it is imperative that the students are well-rested and have a big breakfast each day to ensure they have enough stamina to demonstrate what they have learnt this term.
In other news, it was amazing to see such amazing results in our school Spell-a-thon test! The students are all feeling very proud of their achievements and it is wonderful to see their hard work pay off. Please keep in mind, Spell-a-thon money is due on Wednesday 23rd of June in time for the raffle so keep fundraising and supporting your child.
Finally, as the weather is getting rather chilly, please ensure your child has a jumper at school to keep them warm and focussed throughout the day.
Many thanks, Lisa Paterson and Kath Long
Year 5 Capers
As we enter the last few weeks of Semester One, students have begun to complete their assessment in the hope of receiving excellent marks on their report cards.
In English, we have been exploring a variety of literary devices such as alliteration, onomatopoeia and assonance. Students will complete their poetry assessment this week.
In HASS, students continue to explore the interconnection between people and environments. This week, they have been given a plot of land in a biome of their choice. They need to decide how the land will be used and record the geographical changes that will take place with each new development.
In Science, students researched several famous scientists and astronomers such as Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei and Edwin Hubble. They looked at the contribution these people had to our space knowledge today as well as some important space exploration events that have happened.
Last week students completed the Spell-a-thon test and some excellent results were achieved, including several students that got 100%! Thank you for your support at home to ensure the students were prepared for the test.
Thank you for your continued support this term,
Emily, Rebecca and Kerry
Year 6 Capers
Week 8! Congratulations to all students on completing the Spell-a-thon! Most students showed a huge improvement from the original pre-test we completed when we first got our list, and everyone should be really proud of the hard work they put in practising and learning the words.
This week we are working hard to complete end-of-term assessments. Please ensure our students are arriving to school well-rested, with all the necessary equipment to be able to do their best.
In English, students have been writing and practicing their “Survival” speeches, in preparation to present to the class. Ask your child to present their speech to you and you might learn some handy survival skills! Students might also be working on filming their survival speech – we’re looking forward to seeing what they come up with.
In Maths we are reviewing and testing concepts taught over the term.
As we near the end of our Design and Technology unit, students are coming up with a space-saving vege garden, with sustainability in mind. Please remind them to bring these in on Friday.
Term 2 is coming to a close, good luck everybody!
Marica Cunningham, Aaron Harbour, Melanie Worth and Janette McClelland.
Student Council News
Movie Night
The Student Council is planning a movie night for Term 3. The entry fee is a gold coin donation, with proceeds to be kindly donated to the Year 4 cohort in order to make their excursion to the Cairns Aquarium possible. This excursion directly correlates with the Australian Curriculum and the Year 4 science unit around life cycles and living things. The Student Council, as well as Goondi staff, believe this excursion provides our students an opportunity to explore an amazing resource found in our very own backyard, ensuring their learning is engaging and highly relevant.
What PG-rated movie to be confirmed
Where Goondi State School Hall
Who Only Goondi students may attend
When Early in Term 3
Time 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Cost Gold coin donation upon entry.
Bring along some extra money as drinks and snacks will also be sold.
What to bring
Wear comfy clothes (e.g. pyjamas) and bring a pillow, sleeping bag or blanket to lay on.
Look for posters around the school or ask your children about reminders mentioned at assembly nearing the event. We hope to see as many Goondi students as possible in attendance - thank you for your support!
LOTE News
Working individually and as classes, Years 5 and 6 students at Goondi State School are developing their Italian knowledge. Speaking, writing, listening to new words, phrases, sentences and questions in Italian is increasing their skill level in the language. Well done students!
Year 5 students are undertaking their oral assessment task. Students are having a scripted conversation with their Italian teacher and answering set questions. Year 6 students are continuing with their written assessment task on La mia giornata (My day). In this task, students are furthering their knowledge of Italian nouns, verbs and adjectives.
The bookwork standard shown in their exercise books is pleasing. Feedback and assistance is given to students regularly. Continue encouraging your child to speak Italian with you and discuss what they are learning.
Arrivederci (Goodbye)
Signora Lazzarini
P & C News
The last P and C meeting was held on 17th May 2021. The committee were delighted to see some familiar faces at the meeting, and welcome all parents and carers to come along to any of the meetings to learn more about what is happening at school. Meetings are held at 5:30pm on the third Monday of each month in the school library. Check the message board in front of school for reminders.
Thank you to staff, students and carers for your support of the recent Spell-a-thon. This event is typically a very strong fundraiser for the school and proceeds go to making Goondi a better place for our whole school community. Good luck to all students who participated, maybe you'll be lucky enough to win one of the iPads up for grabs!
The whole Goondi State School community is encouraged to collect and donate bread bags, bread tags, wrap bags for recycling. There will be collection boxes outside the main office and prep class room until 25 June 2021 and we are aiming to collect five kilos of bags. Bags need to be clean of crumbs, but don't need to be washed out. The bags will earn points which will help us earn new sporting equipment for the school. Do your bit for the school and the environment, and get collecting!!! Every bag helps.
The District/Interschool Sports Carnival will be held on 18 and 30 July 2021. On Friday 30 July 2021, P and C are hoping to run a sausage sizzle and/cake stall to raise funds for our school while we have a high number of visitors participating in the day's events. We aren't able to run the stall without volunteers. Leanne DePrima has kindly offered to coordinate the stall but does need help - many hands make light work! If you wish to assist that day, please contact Leanne on 0419 768 119
Looking forward, P and C will be arranging a pie drive for Term 3, and Christmas raffle will be run in Term 4. Don't forget! If you are a business owner/manager and would like to donate a prize for the Christmas Raffle in term 4, please don't hesitate to get in touch with the P and C Secretary at becca.sapuppo@gmail.com <mailto:becca.sapuppo@gmail.com> .
The Arts (Drama) News
A glimpse of DRAMA this week!
Community News
Well Women’s Clinic - Innisfail Hospital
(This clinic is available to Medicare eligible clients)
Monday 14th June 2021
Service includes Cervical Screening Tests (Pap Smears), Sexual Health Screening, Breast Awareness, also info on Contraception, Continence, Menopause, Lifestyle Issues, Domestic Violence, etc. All services are provided by a specially trained Women’s Health Nurse.
For appointments please phone 4016 1312 / 4016 1435
Community News
Community News
