Goondi SS Newsletter 15.02.23
From the Principal
Dear Parents and Carers,
As you already know, I will soon be leaving Goondi to take on the principalship at Balaclava State School. I am pleased to be able to let you know that the new Principal of Goondi State School is Tania Kaitara, currently Principal at Innisfail State School. Tania brings a wealth of experience and deep knowledge of education and will lead Goondi through the next and very exciting period. Tania and I will be conducting a handover soon and will work to ensure a smooth transition.
Once again, we have had a very productive and busy 2-week period at our fantastic school. Our team of dedicated staff continue to work very hard to ensure that every one of our students succeeds in achieving to the best of their ability. It has been fantastic to see such a smooth start to the 2023 school year.
While in class our pedagogies including Explicit Instruction, Investigation, Direct Instruction and Warm-Ups continue a strong focus on every student participating and engaging with the learning. One Voice classrooms are about everyone contributing and participating at the same time. The use of personal whiteboards is another strategy that offers inclusion and easy participation by everyone.
In our classrooms, it is always pleasing to see Goondi students working hard, remaining on task, asking for help when needed and striving to be the best that they can be. This has definitely been the case for the first 3 weeks of 2023. I am constantly reminded of what a privilege it is to work in education when I see our students engaged and learning across our school.
Our students engagement with learning across the school has been exemplary. Our staff are very proud of them – Well done Goondi!
Regards,
Peter Begemann
Principal
School Calendar
School Events
Mon 20th Feb – P&C meeting
Thurs 9th Mar – School Photos
Wed 15th - Mon 27th Mar - NAPLAN
Mon 27th – Thurs 30th Mar – Parent/Teacher interviews
Sport Events
Wed 22nd March – Inter-House Cross Country
Other School News
P&C EXECUTIVE
The P&C’s annual general meeting will be held on Monday and the following executive positions will be opened:
-President
-Vice President
-Secretary
-Assistant Secretary
-Treasurer
-Assistant Treasurer
Our P&C will continue with supporting the participation of students at excursions and camps. They will also be raising funds to assist the school with various projects as we move through the year. The start time is 5.30pm.
STUDENT LEADER INVESTITURE
On assembly next week we will be holding our Investiture to formally recognise our 2023 Student Leaders. Goondi State School looks forward to welcoming our 2017 School Captains Mercedes Micale and Riley DeBrincat as they return to Goondi to take part and give our leaders their badges.
SCHOOL PHOTOS
School photos will be taken on Thursday 9th March. The photos will be taken by NQ School Photography. Forms have already been sent home and allow you to choose which pack and design you would like to order.
Please make orders and payment online using the details provided. We do also have forms at school to order sibling photos that can be requested, but this can also be done online.
Students are to be in full school uniform and we recommend that students bring a comb or brush to school on the day to assist with grooming prior to class and portrait photos.
INTER-HOUSE CROSS COUNTRY
Our first athletics event for the year, our Inter-House Cross Country will take place on Wednesday 22nd March.
All students participate in our cross country from Prep right through to Year 6. All of the cross country courses are within the school grounds. The day will commence with the Prep event at 9:00am and then proceed up the grades concluding with the 12 year old event at around 10:45am.
Our students are training during their morning endurance runs and have been made familiar with the course in readiness for the cross country day. As in past years, we expect all students to participate and we are immensely proud of the number of students who participate and complete the course. The event is structured in such a way that every student who finishes, regardless of where they finish, scores points for their house.
The top four place getters in the 10,11 and 12 year old divisions will represent the school at the district cross country to be held next term .
We encourage all students to wear their house colours on the day. These are:
Palmerston – Red,
Johnstone - Green,
Geraldton – Yellow.
Students must wear joggers to compete in the cross country.
ATTENDANCE
At the time of writing, our current attendance rate is 91.3% which while encouraging, is just short of our target figure of 95%. A number of our classes have achieved outstanding attendance rates with many in the very high 90’s. The classes with the highest attendance rate for the month of February will be announced at assembly on March 2nd. There will be a class from P-2 and a class from 3-6 who will receive Excellence Pennants.
For the first time since the pandemic, at the end of the term we will be presenting every student who has achieved a 95%+ attendance rate with a special wristband. They will also go into a special prize draw for each year level.
STUDENT SAFETY
Parent Pick Up and Staff Car Park
We ask that parents do not enter the school via the staff car park gate but use one of the three other entrances instead. Once again it is about modelling the correct behaviour to ensure the safety of your children.
Parents wishing to enter the school, please do not use the 5 minute parking bays as at pick up times as this causes a safety issue for our students leaving school.
Parent Pick-Up Area
The school has a designated Parent Pick-Up area (next to the adventure playground) and a bus waiting area (near C Block). Both these areas are supervised by teachers in the afternoons.
NAPLAN DATES
Parents are reminded that national testing (NAPLAN) for students in Years 3 and 5 will be held during 15th to the 27th of March.
NAPLAN 2023 – Public Demonstration Site
Please the below extract from the site and a link to take you to it:
https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/public-demonstration-site
The public demonstration tests show the types of questions students will answer and the functionalities that are available in NAPLAN tests.
Students can do the standard tests or they can do a test with accessible alternative items:
- The visual alternative tests include some items with simplified images (numeracy and reading).
- The tests with audio alternative items have text-based items instead of audio dictation items (conventions of language).
- The colour theme tests have different coloured fonts and backgrounds (all domains).
It is recommended that students, their parents/carers and schools discuss the best way for students with disability to access NAPLAN. Visit Accessibility to learn more.
While these demonstration tests are not tailored tests, example branching messages are included for familiarisation. Branching messages (PDF 2 MB) advise students whether they may go back to previous testlets to change their answers, or not.
What’s new in the demonstration tests?
There is now a narrative task and a persuasive task for students to practise. Only one of these tasks will be tested in NAPLAN 2023, and this will be revealed on the day of the assessment.
Students will now start the conventions of language test with the spelling items and finish with the grammar and punctuation items.
There are now different narrator voices for the audio items. Some students may benefit from listening to the voice change from one item to another. They can do so by listening to the numeracy items or the audio dictation items in the conventions of language tests.
Prep News
Welcome to our first News Capers for Term 1. Prep staff and students have been very busy learning routines and rules of our classrooms and the school. Students have settled into their daily routines very well. It’s great to see all students in full uniform.
The last three weeks during literacy, students have been learning about the Letterland Characters Sammy Snake, Impy Ink, Bouncy Ben, Talking Tess, Noisy Nick, Annie Apple and Lucy Lamplight. Students were introduced to and practise their sight words daily. During writing we have been busy reading, cutting up and re-arranging sentences then copying the sentences. Students draw and write a Recount of their weekend every Monday. Students have been introduced to Casey the Caterpillar Handwriting Program. During Term 1, students begin to form each shape for the letters.
Maths lessons have been fun and engaging which the students have been enjoying. During the Number Concepts students have been counting forwards and backwards to 10. Learning to represent numbers using numerals, words, ten frames, pictures and fingers. Learning about colours, graphs, big/small, tall/short and sorting objects.
During the afternoons, students engage in art activities that integrate with the other learning areas. We have also been focusing on the Goondi Five rules each week.
Yours in Prep 😊
Mrs Myers, Mrs Barba, Mrs Ferguson and Mrs Tanti.
Year 1 News
We are amazing busy bees in Year 1 already this term.
This week in Maths we are learning all about subtraction, ordinal numbers, 3D shapes and counting by 2s. We are working really hard to practice counting in 2s to 30. It would be great if you could help your child practice counting by 2 at home.
In Writing we are planning a creating an imaginative narrative about the playground. We have also chosen a friend from Year 1 to be in our story. Our story has a beginning, middle and an ending. We are making sure that all our sentences have a capital letter to start, finger spaces and punctuation. Our writing skills are coming along and we are very proud of what we have achieved so far.
In Science we are learning about landscapes and we will re-create a landscape which will feature Mt Bartle Frere.
Its great to see that most of our homework folders are returning back to school each day. Please remember to have your child read to you each night and also practice their sight words. Wishing you a great week!
Hayley, Leigh, Wendy, Kimberley, Fiona and Anita
Year 2 News
Hello from Year 2! This week finds us very busy, as we have by now established our routines and can get the most out of every day. Remember, every day counts when it comes to attendance, so we appreciate the effort everyone is putting in.
In English we are focusing on Imaginative Recounts all Term, with a different topic each week. This week is the zoo, and we get to make up a fun story about something that went wrong with our visit there! We have key words that we try to use, and follow a structure to help shape our writing. If you have ever been to the Zoo, you could discuss this at home to help prompt your student!
Science sees us mixing solids together to see what happens, and next week we move on to liquids. Some great budding young scientists in these classes making keen observations and recording results.
In HaSS we are discussing the scale of the world around us, from the very room we sit in to the entire planet, and how different scales are represented differently. When you have travelled, has it been local, regional, national or global? Maybe you could talk to your student about this.
Don’t forget that Homework is due back on a Friday, to be marked and returned the following Monday. The spelling words get tested every Friday, so try to practice these at home.
Regards,
Nathan Worth, Robyn Scheiwe, Kathy Pike and Jeanette Spataro.
Year 3 News
Naplan this year will be in Week 8 so we are madly revising concepts in order to be prepared. This week Year 3’s move onto narrative writing after crafting persuasive exposition texts. A narrative text has four paragraphs and students are encouraged to use descriptive vocabulary to describe the setting, characters and their emotions. A problem must be developed and then resolved to end the story. This week students will write an independent piece on ‘Children Escaping’ and the following week the topic is ‘The Key’.
Our number fact focus in Maths is the 5 times tables. We have revised the 2’s, 1’s and 0’s. Measurement is the concept we are exploring this week, looking at length, weight and capacity. In Week 5 we will consolidate calculation and change of money.
In Technology we are building our knowledge and preparing to make our own guessing game. This week we learned how to add scores. We still need to create a title and question page before we start our assessment.
Until next time, Brooke, Janelle, and Amanda.
Year 4 News
Year 5 News
What an incredible start the Year 5 students have had in 2023! It is wonderful to see so many students putting their heads down with clear vision goals to ensure a very successful term and year. We also thank all parents and carers for their support and a smooth start to the year.
Remember ‘Every Day Counts’ and it is also advisable for your child to eat healthy food and get enough sleep to ensure they are able to perform their best to achieve success.
This term in English the students’ focus is on Reading strategies, Narrative and Exposition writing. Students are using Writer’s Toolbox to practise their writing skills and their typing skills in preparation for the upcoming NAPLAN in Week 9 of this term.
In Maths, students have been reviewing and consolidating knowledge and skills such as mental computations and the Bar Model.
This term, Science has the students investigating the solar system and the sun.
In HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences) our first unit is investigating ‘Needs and Wants’ and we are having some in-depth conversations.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns.
Cheers, Kayla, Rebecca and Janette
Year 5/6 & 6 News
In our 5/6 and 6B classes we have been working hard at developing knowledge and skills and consolidating learning in English and Maths lessons.
In Maths, students have been continuing their understanding of factors and multiples, fractions, transformations and The Bar Model. Students have been introduced to a structure called RESCUE. Put simply, RESCUE is just a way of organising our working out, to ensure we don’t miss a step when calculating something where there is a rule or equation, like the area or volume of a shape. We will continue to practice and revise this throughout the year as we expand the equations in our repertoire, and this will be a useful tool for students to use going forward into high school.
Students have been working hard to improve and refine their writing skills, both written and via a program called Writers’ Toolbox, which allows students to practise typing their writing. This skill will come in handy as our Year 5s complete their NAPLAN writing later this term, and ongoing into high school, where students are often expected to hand in a typed copy of their assessment.
In Science, students have been focusing on energy types and sources and investigating how electricity moves around a simple electrical circuit.
In HASS, students have been learning about indigenous cultures around the world, and the way they have traditionally managed their environments.
In Design and Technology, we explored Weslandia – a fictitious world that introduces students to the topic of sustainability, which is one of the main themes of this unit.
Thank you so much to those parents who have been in contact with any questions. Our students always perform better when we all work as a team!
Thank you for your support,
Mr Richards, Mrs Worth and Mrs McClelland.
Sports News
All classes are training hard for our Inter-House Cross Country Competition in Week 9 on Wednesday 22nd March. The day will start at 0900 sharp. Students are using their endurance running time in the morning to work on their fitness as well as working hard during HPE classes.
This year, as well as informing students of all District Sport Trials for 10,11 and 12y.o., I will be sending parents the relevant forms via our Schoolzine Newsletter. Peninsula paperwork (11 page booklet) is available for download on our Goondi State School site.
Tiffanie Bulstrode
HPE Teacher.
Music News
SENIOR CHOIR
Selected students from Years 4 to 6 started rehearsing last week in the Senior Choir, and they already sound fantastic!
Rehearsals are held every Tues from 1:35-2pm and Wed 8:30-9am.
Choir members are expected to attend all rehearsals when at school and they require a display folder so that they can take their music sheets home to practise. I will let parents know in the near future of performances by the Senior Choir this semester.
Kind regards
Kerry Macgillivray
MUSIC TEACHER
L.O.T.E News
Saluti (Greetings)
Year 5 and 6 students at Goondi State School are given opportunities each lesson to communicate in Italian by being encouraged to speak, listen, read and write.
Year 5 students are learning Saluti (Greetings) and responding to Come ti chiami? (What’s your name?) and Come stai? (How are you?). Year 6 students are learning further greetings and learning about Carnevale (a famous festival that occurs around February and March). Students are learning to identify the location of the more famous Carnevale festivals in various regions in Italy. Year 5 and 6 students are also enhancing their fluency and pronunciation by learning the Italian alphabet and songs.
Exercise books are collected regularly with expectations that students follow the school’s bookwork policy. Feedback is provided. Encourage your child to speak Italian with you and discuss what they are learning!
Arrivederci (Goodbye)
Signora Lazzarini
The ARTS News
As we continue to explore the Elements of Dance, our students have also been introduced to the concept of dance as a medium in Musicals. Utilizing simple choreographic techniques and basic dance movements, students are now already performing for the class in groups of three or four. Years P-2 are responding, performing and choregraphing dance routines that represent characters. Years 3-4 are choreographing, performing and responding to dance by exploring how dance is used to represent stories. And our Senior cohort are performing, choreographing and responding to dance using the theme of adventure as stimulus.
Francesca Rosa
Arts Teacher
Community News/Events
FOR PARENTS OF CATHOLIC CHILDREN
Enrolments are still being taken for the Sacramental Program for 2023. If you have a child who has been baptised Catholic and will be in year 4 this year (or an older grade) then please contact Angie at the Parish Office on 40630650 or call in to fill in an enrolment form as soon as possible.
The Sacramental Program includes the Sacraments of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of Confirmation and the Sacrament of Eucharist. There will be an Information Night on Monday 20th February at 7pm in Mother of Good Counsel Church to meet you and your child and to provide an overview of the year.
Angela Cristaudo
Sacramental Coordinator