Goondi SS Newsletter 09.11.22

From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

It is unbelievable to think that we are now making plans for the end of the 2022 school year!  We have already begun discussions about our Awards Night where we will have the opportunity to recognise those students who have exhibited academic excellence throughout the year at Goondi. More details about this special night will be sent home in due course.    

At this time of the year we commence our preparations for the planning and organisation of classes for the following year.  Please help us to be as accurate as possible and minimise any changes at the start of next year by letting the office know if you are moving next year and are anticipating not returning to Goondi in 2023.

We will be engaged with staffing and class building processes from now, until well into the first few weeks of 2023. Preparation and planning is designed to limit any changes and adjustments to classes.  May we ask that if you are aware of families who intend on enrolling at Goondi next year in all year levels, please ask then to contact our office staff to obtain enrolment packages.

Over the next few weeks our school leaders for 2023 will be selected.  Earlier in the term, I spoke to all of our Year 5 students about what it takes to be a student leader and the skills and qualities that this important role demands.  These conversations are also currently being conducted by our Year 5 teachers.  Students will present their speeches to their peers in the coming week which will be followed by the elections. The Year 6 elected student leaders and school captains for 2023 will be announced at our Awards Night.

I look forward to seeing this process once again produce some excellent school leaders here at Goondi State School. 

Regards,

Kristina Haigh

Principal

School Calendar

16th and 23rd Nov - PrePrep session

21st Nov - P&C Meeting (5.30pm start)

28th Nov - ISC Transition Day (Yr6)

6th Dec - A Key Reward excursion

6th Dec - Report Cards issued

8th Dec - Prep to Year 5 Awards Parade

8th Dec - Year 6 Graduation and Dinner

Other School News

INNISFAIL SCHOOL SAVVY 2023

The School Savvy program has become an ongoing Centacare project launched in Poverty week 2016, with an annual pop-up store that assists families to be able to support their children to begin the school year ready to learn.

Centacare FNQ is calling for donations of school supplies and school uniforms for what will be the seventh School Savvy pop-up shop set to open in January 2023. 

School Savvy wouldn't be possible without the support of many local organisations that donate funding, storage, transport, labour, and school supplies. 

How can you be involved in School Savvy Program?

• Term 4: Donate your good condition pre-loved school uniforms, shoes, backpacks, lunch boxes and stationery supplies to our School Savvy Donation Points (Goondi SS Office)
• Visit School Savvy Pop-up Shop in January 2023 to get your child ready for the 2023 school year
• Follow School Savvy FNQ Facebook Page and Centacare FNQ website for your local Donation point.

Prep Capers

WOW!  This term is certainly going by too quickly.  Over the next coming weeks, the Prep classes will be very busy completing Reading, Writing, Speaking and Spelling Assessments.   We continue to learn our Lettterland Phonics weekly, which focus on "Magic E" and Long Vowel sounds.   Students are doing a wonderful job sharing their favourite toys during ‘Show and Tell’.

The Prep classes are currently busy completing Maths Assessments.  Students have enjoyed the challenge while completing the Daily 5 activity.  We are currently learning about addition and subtraction word problems.  Students draw the picture to match the problem, write number sentences then write their answers.  They are also enjoying the new concept being taught.

In Science, we continue to explore materials which are suitable to make a house.  Students are currently testing materials by blowing on them and recording the distances they travel.  Over the next few days, they will begin to design and start to build their house. 

Towards the end of term, students will celebrate learning their Letterland Phonics by dressing up as their favourite Letterland Character. More information will be sent out in the next few weeks.  Families can begin thinking about their child’s costume. 

Thank you

Prep A, Prep B, Prep C Staff

Year 1 Capers

Welcome to Week 6! The final term is flying by and our Year 1’s have been working very hard. Keep it up!  With Week 7 approaching, we are getting ready to begin assessment. It is important that your child attends school and gets plenty of rest so that they are ready to learn.

We have been continuing to write persuasive texts in English. Students will be having a go at writing their own persuasive text next week for their assessment. They will convince their parent/carer to buy them their dream pet! We can’t wait to read all the arguments.

In Mathematics, we are revising concepts such as counting, number facts, measuring length and analysing and creating graphs. This week, we have been working hard on tricky concepts such as telling time on digital and analogue clocks, counting money and solving addition and subtraction word problems and facts.

Enjoy the rest of your week,

Tayla, Leigh, Hayley, Fiona and Kimberly

Year 2 Capers

Hi from Year 2!

We can’t believe that we are already more than halfway through the term. Thank you to everyone who was able to assist in Week 4 with our swimming, but thank you also to all parents and carers who made sure that your learners had the right togs and towels to be able to participate in the activity.

We are still learning at the moment, but soon we begin the transition to our testing period. These tests will help us to decide on a mark for Semester 2, so it’s important that we are using good habits in this time, such as enough sleep, healthy eating, and regular homework. Helping your student with their homework, such as sight words and home-readers, can make a huge difference to their capability in the classroom.

While school is very important, remember that your student doesn’t need to come to school sick, and may get sent home again if they do. Some students are arriving at school with fevers and running noses, which makes it hard to learn, hard to teach, and hard for those around them. The best thing to do if you are sick is stay at home.

Regards,

Nathan Worth, Robyn Scheiwe and Jeanette Spataro.

Year 3 Capers

This week started with our Pat Reading, Spelling and Maths Tests. We are very pleased to report that most students achieved good results and made us proud. They have worked hard all year, following the Goondi 5 to be successful and 'daring to do well'.  The next two weeks are extremely busy with testing, so please ensure children have early nights and healthy meals. As teachers, we also need to follow this advice so we can work at our best too 🙂.

The topic for writing this week is 'Deep Sea Diving'. Some elements we are striving to add include descriptive language, similes and the power of 3. This is listing 3 things in a sentence, or giving 3 descriptive adjectives. We had a mid-term writing test last week to give an indication of how we are going and provide valid feedback to improve. Our actual writing test is next Thursday. We will revisit our speaking task in the next couple of weeks, once our listening tests are completed.

Keep revising all number facts at home in preparation for our upcoming timed tests. We are consolidating place value and addition and subtraction strategies in Maths for the next two weeks.

In HASS we are delving into democracy and decision-making and are keen to have our votes counted. We will also look at why rules are important and necessary, along with how to write a rule so it has a positive sound to it.

Until next time, 

Donna, Janelle, Paula and Lizette. 

Year 4 Capers

Can you believe we are past the halfway mark of Term 4 already? Students have been working hard in class ready for their final assessments.  Report cards will be sent home in Week 10.

Swimming was a success with many of the students passing their levels and enjoying the Friday Fun Day on the slides. Your child’s swimming certificate will be sent home with their report card.

In Techology, students have used a program called Tinker Cad to design a boat.  These have now been printed using a 3-D printer.  This week the students will test their creations to see if they met the design brief – maximum of 5cm and must float.

With the increased heat during this time of the year, please ensure your child brings a water bottle to school each day to keep hydrated and to ensure there are minimal interruptions to learning.

Finally, a reminder that attendance is of the upmost importance during the final weeks at school, so let’s maintain 95% or above!

Kath, Kathy and Mel

Year 4/5 & 5 Capers

Here we go again, on the downward run towards the end of year mad rush.  Only 24 days until your child is officially a Year 6 student and is beginning their last year of primary.  Make them count people.

This term in English the students are concentrating on their reading comprehension skills and their final writing assessment.  

In Maths, the students are consolidating their learning in preparation of end of year tests.

Science has students participating a variety of experiments that introduce them to a property of liquid called viscosity, through an engaging video of a very familiar liquid – tomato sauce.

While in HASS students will analyse significance, impact and colonial leaders. They will investigate the changing of place names and the debate over historical statues and examine the differing viewpoints and perspective of people in the past compared to current viewpoints, developing an understanding that history and people’s perception of the past is continuously evolving and changing.

Student leader elections are closing in.  Those who have nominated have finished writing their speeches at school with the guidance of Miss Scott.  Now they should be practising them at home.  They have about one and a half weeks before delivering them to their peers.  Good luck to all! We look forward to listening to them.

Wishing all a productive and happy term. Warm regards,

Jessie, Rebecca & Janette.

Year 6 Capers

It is hard to believe that there is less than 5 weeks to go before the end of term. This also means that our year six students are almost finished with primary school. The rest of the term is going to be very busy so it is vital that students eat healthy food, exercise and get plenty of sleep at night in preparation for the upcoming Week 7 & 8 testing and assessment period.  Students continue to work hard in English to improve their writing and to complete their portfolios for our novel Boy Over Board.

In Maths, students are working hard to prepare for upcoming assessments with a focus on calculating discount percentages, subtracting fractions and plotting on the Cartesian plane.

Students are investigating solidification, evaporation and reversible and irreversible changes in Science and are working towards completing their HASS business plans.

In Digital Technology, students are exploring how computers store and send digital information and how this is represented in a digital format.

Thank you to all students who have been focusing on getting enough sleep, eating a healthy breakfast, and bringing a healthy lunch to school, to make sure they are fully equipped for learning and assessment each day.

Thank you for your support!

Tjaart Richards, Melanie Worth and Janette McClelland.

The Arts News

Over the past fortnight, our Media students have been busy working on our fantastic new iPads, creating innovative digital artworks, designs and movies. Prep to Year 2, continue to explore Memojis and are also creating fairy-tale storyboards that explore the foundations of moving imagery.  Students are also creating their own storyboard based on a family event or narrative. Year 3 and 4 students are working in iMovie creating Trailers. Using Fairy Tale or Superhero themes they are designing their own photographic and moving storyboard digitally and editing it using a soundtrack and imaginative storyline.  Year 5 and 6 continue to explore advertising through the digital creation of animated and moving posters.  Keep up the creative work everyone!

Francesca Rosa

Arts Teacher

Sports News

Thanks to all parents, staff and students for helping to make our School Swimming Program run so smoothly. We saw so much improvement in swimming skills and students learned a great deal about how to be safe in and around water. Students, please remember to work on those swimming skills between now and next year. All swimming certificates will be sent home with report cards in Week 10.

As we approach the end of the year, all classes have completed their Health Tests and we are assessing skills over the next few weeks.

Tiffanie Bulstrode

Health and Physical Education Teacher

Community News