Goondi SS Newsletter 24th November 2021
From the Principal
Dear Parents and Carers,
Another year has gone and we now only have 2 more weeks to ensure a fantastic end to the year for our students.
Our students and teachers are currently focussed on assessment and reporting and as I visit class rooms this fortnight, I have seen lots of busy students ‘heads down’ completing these tasks.
Our end of year awards ceremonies will be held in the last week of school on Thursday 9th of December. We will take the opportunity to acknowledge those students who have excelled in a range of academic areas, and to present our graduating Year 6 students with their graduation certificates. Our new student leaders for 2022 will also be announced.
This year, the awards ceremonies will take place separately. The first ceremony being Prep to Year 5 and the second Year 6. Both ceremonies will take place in our Multi-Purpose Hall. The Prep to Year 5 ceremony will commence at 2pm and the Year 6 at 6pm. The Year 6 Graduation Dinner will be at Roscoes Innisfail at 7:30pm. Year 6 students have specific information about this.
2021 has held many challenges as well as great successes for our school. We were all deeply affected by the break-in that shook the school in February and the months of repair and recovery work that took place afterwards. However, we can also be very proud of our achievements. Our school achieved above national averages in all areas of NAPLAN testing this year and was unofficially placed in the top 100 primary schools in Queensland!
We rose to the challenges of the break-in, COVID restrictions, building works and continued to deliver a high-quality education for each and every student. We thank our parents, carers and the community for the support we received in 2021. Our strong teaching practices remain the core of Goondi’s success and this is something that we value and will continue to refine and improve during 2022.
Our Pre-Prep Program continues to be hugely popular. This year we saw more than 40 students participating in the program. The program helps us to begin positive relationships with new parents and students and has ensured that many of our families now have a better understanding of some of the school practices and programs.
While it is said each year, it does not diminish the fact that achievement is all due to hard work, the performance and commitment of our students, the dedication of our staff and the support of parents.
I look forward to seeing many of you at our awards ceremonies in the final week of term.
Regards,
Peter Begemann
Principal
School Calendar
School Events
Tue 7th Dec – Report Cards sent home
Thur 9th Dec – Awards Ceremonies
Fri 10th Dec – School Ends
Extra-Curricular Events
Thurs and Fri 2nd & 3rd Dec – Year 6 excursion
Mon 6th Dec - 'A Key' ten pin bowling trip
Fri 10th Dec – Free Dress Day (Student Council)
Student of the Week
Other School News
YEAR 6 -7 TRANSITION
As the final activity in the Innisfail Canecutter Cluster primary into junior secondary transition program, Innisfail State College will be hosting all Year 6 students for a full day of junior secondary on Tuesday 30th November 2021.
The aim of this orientation is to allow students to experience a typical day of Year 7 at ISC. Students will need to be at ISC to start the day no later than 8:30am with a parade in D block. Each student will be given a personal timetable to follow for the day. Students will experience moving around the college, meeting some of their teachers for 2022 and experiencing how our subjects are taught.
All students will be required to wear their primary school uniform, including hat, and bring a schoolbag, containing at least one exercise book, writing pens or pencils, a packed lunch that does not require refrigeration, a water bottle, and/or money to purchase lunch from the college canteen. Parents and guardians will be responsible for getting their child to and from Innisfail State College. The day will finish at the regular school time of 2:50 pm. Students who travel by bus can catch the bus to and from the college. Trans North Bus Company is aware of this arrangement and we are grateful for their generous support of this arrangement.
Parents who still require an enrolment interview for Year 7 in 2022, can you please contact Innisfail State College to arrange an interview time to take place this year. Please note that an interview and fully completed enrolment pack must be returned to enrol your child for next year. We look forward to seeing all students at the orientation day. If you have any questions about the above, please contact the college on 4078 0222 or email sgham0@eq.edu.au
P&C XMAS RAFFLE
Our P&C is holding its end-of-year Xmas raffle to raise funds for our school:
P&C Membership for 2022
Our school has a small and dedicated P&C group. In 2022, we would love to see new members join us to help continue the high-quality service that our P&C has delivered throughout 2021. It is a fantastic chance to have a positive effect on the school life of Goondi State School students through fund raising, awards and event coordination.
In 2021 our P&C have supported Goondi State School with many events that are apart of our school culture such as the Spell-a-thon, Pie-drive, Christmas raffle, Year 5 camp, A Key rewards trip and many awards.
The first P&C meeting (AGM followed by general) will take place on February 21st at 5.30pm
On behalf of the Goondi State School P&C, we look forward to seeing you there.
FLASHING SCHOOL ZONE LIGHTS
Flashing light school zone signs are soon to be installed on Maple Street. Goondi State School was nominated to receive these new signs as part of a Queensland Government commitment to improve school road safety.
You will notice that the new signs look similar to standard school zone signs with the addition of a red flashing ring around the speed limit as well as two flashing yellow lights at the top of the sign. The installation of flashing light school zone signs is proven to improve visibility of school zones, serving as an active reminder for motorists to slow down.
Keep an eye out for the new signs and make sure you stick to the signed speed limit.
ENROLMENTS IN 2022
At this time of the year we are deep into planning for classes in 2022. It is important that we know who will be enrolled at Goondi State School next year.
If you are leaving the district, or if your child will be attending a different school next year we ask that you contact the office. This will assist us greatly with putting together classes for next year. It will also assist us with the transfer of student records when your child enrols at their new school.
If you know of anyone who is intending to enrol their child at Goondi State School in 2022, please ask them to contact the school and complete an expression of interest enrolment form.
Our school is enrolment managed. This means that students residing within the school’s catchment area can be enrolled once proof of residency is provided by the parents or carers. Students outside the school’s catchment area can still be enrolled provided there are vacancies.
REPORT CARDS
Teachers and students are currently in the midst of assessment and reporting. End of semester report cards will be sent home in the last week of term on Tuesday 7th December.
BOOKLISTS
Booklists for Years 1-6 will be sent home with the end of semester report card. Our local newsagents and book sellers will also be given a copy of our booklists.
BREAK-UP DAY
Our school will break-up on Friday 10th December. The day is a free dress day (no gold coin donation) and the P&C will supply morning tea (watermelon and fruit) and lunch (sausage sizzle). Students may still bring their own morning tea and lunch if they wish.
Classes will participate in a number of activities throughout the course of the day. The day will conclude with a lolly drop at 2:30pm. Students will be dismissed at 3:00pm. School buses will run as per usual.
Prep Capers
Hi Everyone, These last couple of weeks have seen the Prep classes doing assessments and testing for English, Reading, Maths, Science, HASS and other specialist subjects. Writing was all about “The Best Toy” as a Persuasive Writing piece and “Weekend Recount”.
Maths tested a lot of areas some including number facts, teen numbers, measurement (length and capacity), geometry (shapes) and picture graphs.
Science was exciting with the students being creative in designing and making a windchime which look very colourful. Another reminder about the Letterland Parade and to keep working on a Letterland Character costume for Week 9.
Happy learning from Prep A, B and C, Angela Kehrer, Kathy Pike, Priscilla Bird, Rose Sardi, Anita Knight, Amanda Kleve and Cassie Tanti.
Year 1 Capers
As we come to the final weeks of this year, we take the time to reflect on how far our students have come and the gains that they have made this year. We are proud of the effort that the students have put in, in order to improve their reading, writing, maths and social skills.
This week will be our last Library lesson so if your child could please return any books that they have borrowed that would be fantastic. Also in the last week we will start to send students' books and other materials home so if you could please send your child with a plastic/carry bag that would also be great.
We wish all the Year Ones good luck for next year.
We wish everyone a safe and relaxing holiday.
Hayley, Leigh and Fiona.
Year 2 Capers
Wow! Week 8 has crept up so quickly. We have completed most of our assessments and this week are finalising our end of term Writing and Speaking tasks.
In Maths we are revising some of our more difficult concepts that were taught. These include fractions, word problems and elapsed time.
In HASS we are wrapping up our unit on Innisfail’s history where we talked about significant events like cyclone Yasi and Larry.
Finally, in Technology we have used the coding skills that we learnt to create a conversation between two characters telling a joke. The kids have done an excellent job!
All our best, Miss Mollenhagen, Mrs Hollywood and Mrs Spataro.
Year 3 Capers
This week will see the completion of our assessment of what the students have learnt and the preparation of reports. Every spare moment though, the Year Threes have been busily tweaking their pinball machines in readiness for their creations to undergo time trials. Then, it will be back to the drawing boards to make any modifications and improvements. We’ve certainly got some budding engineers at work.
In Maths, we’re consolidating a range of concepts and working on increasing our strategies for recall of number facts. We continue to examine how to apply these strategies to enable fast computation in addition, subtraction and multiplication algorithms.
In English, we are focussing on practising for the speaking component of our assessment. The students have taken home an excerpt from a novel of their choice, to practise reading in an expressive manner. They are welcome to come dressed in character for their presentation. Homework expectations remain unchanged with students expected to regularly change their readers independently and return their homework folders every Friday with the Spelling, Maths and Reading Tasks completed.
Thankyou for your assistance with completing and returning these tasks.
Until next time, Robyn, Janelle, Paula, Jackie and Lizette.
Year 3/4 & 4 Capers
Can you believe its only 31 days until Christmas? Who is already counting down? I bet the kids certainly are! With only two weeks left of school, students are undertaking many end of term assessments to determine their final grades for their report cards. They have already completed most of their English, Science and HASS assessments, but will be completing their Maths assessments this week. Students have also undertaken a number of diagnostic testing designed to illustrate how far they have travelled academically throughout the year. We are pleased to say, that so far the improvement we have seen is outstanding!
Finally, as the year begins to wrap up please ensure any school property, e.g. class novels or library books, are returned as early as possible. Also, a reminder that here at Goondi, we work up until the last day of school, but also have many fun activities during the last week including the famous lolly drop. The last day of school is very important as it provides students a chance to clean up and take belongings home for the holidays as well as say goodbye to their teacher and friends. Please ensure that your child attends school up until the very last day of Year 3 or 4.
Thanks, Kath Long and Lisa Paterson.
Year 5 Capers
Have you blinked and missed it? The term has vanished!
The Year 5 classes must be commended on their excellent behaviour while on camp at Camp Paterson. It was great to see the leadership skills that were developed during challenging activities. A huge thank you to our parent volunteers; Natasha, Peter, Nathan and Daniel. The camp would not have been possible without you!
A reminder that leadership speeches and forms are due this Friday 26th November and the speeches will be presented on Monday 29th November to their Year 5 peers, teachers and administration staff.
Week 8 holds the academic fate for all our students in Year 5. It is a very busy week as End of Term Testing is scheduled in some KLA’s including Science, HASS, Design and Technology and English. In English, students will be writing their End of Term writing piece based on the Eureka Stockade. In Technology, students are starting to construction their ‘Living with Wildlife’ solutions. Please ensure all materials are brought to school, we are hoping this will be finished by Friday. During this busy time please ensure they are eating well and getting enough sleep. We wish all our families a safe and happy holiday, thank you for a great year!
Best wishes,
Emily, Rebecca and Kerry.
Year 6 Capers
It’s the Final Countdown! Just like the 80’s song, Countdown to the end of term has officially begun! Students are getting very excited knowing their primary school days are coming to an end, however, there is still plenty of work to do until then. This week’s End-of-Term Writing On Demand will see students decide and validate whether Ned Kelly was a hero, villain or victim.
In Maths, students are working hard to complete all their assessment in the hope of receiving an excellent mark on their report cards.
Science assessment will also be completed this week. Our Digital Technologies unit will be accumulating with its final assessment and the students’ designs of their environmentally-sustainable community spaces in HASS will also be assessed. They are all looking fantastic!
Just a reminder of the upcoming ISC Orientation Day next Tuesday, November 30th. The orientation day is considered a normal Goondi school day. All students are expected to attend the ISC Orientation Day as part of their Goondi school day. Students are to make their own way to and from the high school for this full-day orientation. Please confirm transport arrangements with your child beforehand.
Thank you for your support throughout the year and wishing everyone a safe and happy Christmas.
Cheers for now,
Marica, Aaron, Melanie & Janette.
P and C News
The Goondi State School P and C held their last meeting for the year on 15th November 2021..... but the good work continues!
All our work gathering prizes for our Christmas Raffle has paid off with some amazing prize packs up for grabs this year. Huge thanks to those local businesses and Goondi families who supported us by donating prizes. Ticket books went home last week and we encourage everyone to support our last fundraising effort for 2021. Big thanks to those volunteers who boosted our ticket sales by holding a raffle stall at the Innisfail Markets last Saturday. Additional ticket books are available from the school office, and all money and ticket books (sold or unsold) need to be returned on Monday 6th December. The raffle will be drawn on the last day of school - good luck!
The P and C are also making plans for the last day of the school year; organising a sausage sizzle, fruit to share, and a lolly drop for the children and staff to enjoy to celebrate the end of the year. Many hands make light work and if you have a few hours to spare and would like to assist on the day, please let the P and C know by emailing beccasapuppo@gmail.com or contacting Bec on 0409 676 230.
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank our committee members, P and C attendees, volunteers, Goondi staff and broader school community for what has been a very rewarding year. With your support we've delivered a Spell-a-thon, Christmas raffle, bread bag collection, pie drive, supported the Interschool Athletics Carnival with food stalls, and contributed to the cost of excursions, Under 8's Day and school camps. A mammoth effort!
P and C has been a great way to feel more connected to the school, forge new friendships and work on initiatives that benefit all our children. We look forward to welcoming new and returning members in 2022!
LOTE News
The Years 5 and 6 Italian classes at Goondi State School are focusing on their understanding of the Italian language by speaking, writing and listening to new words, phrases and sentences.
Year 5 students are doing their assessment by composing simple sentences describing pets and/or Italian native animals. They have used tables to understand nouns and adjectives in Italian. Year 6 students are undertaking their assessment by creating a PowerPoint about School Life in Italy. Students are using Italian nouns, verbs and adjectives to complete sentences on this topic. Students are also making comparisons with Australia.
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
Sports News
Last Friday, some of our senior students participated in the Billy Slater League Tag competition. Both our boys and girls teams played 5 games each throughout the day. Congratulations to the boys who were undefeated and congratulations to the girls team who walked away with the Sportmanship Award. Both teams should be proud of their efforts.
The Arts News
Students have been enjoying using the Ipads and learning to photo edit this term
Community News
