Goondi SS Newsletter Term 1 Week 8

From the Leadership Team

Dear Parents and Carers,

As the term quickly draws to an end, we would like to congratulate our students on a successful start to 2024. Term One certainly has been busy. At the end of each term, classes are busy consolidating concepts and content taught and completing end of term assessment. Please make sure your child is at school each day unless they are unwell. This will ensure they are able to participate in all the necessary assessments leading up to the end of term.

In the final week of term, we will be offering an opportunity for all parents and carers to meet with class teachers for an oral report around student progress. The Parent-Teacher interview will provide you with a summary of your child’s progress for Term One. During the interview you will be provided with information in relation to the following;

• How your child has settled into their new class and year level and how they are coping with routines and classroom expectations.
• A general overview of your child’s performance to date.
• Your child’s behaviour and how they relate to others.
• Other issues which may be impacting on their learning and suggestions on how you can support your child.

The interview will also provide you with an opportunity to raise areas of concern, or to seek clarification on aspects of your child’s progress.

It is highly recommended that you make every effort to attend an interview with your child’s teacher.

PARENT-TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Parent-Teacher interviews will be held in Week 10 on Tuesday 26^th March.  Interviews of 15 minutes duration will be held between 3:15pm and 7:45pm. All interviews are conducted in your child’s classroom. Appointments will close on Friday 22^nd March.

Appointments can now be made on-line using this URL:

https://eq.sobs.com.au/pt3/parent.php?schoolid=70429

Inter-House Cross Country

Our first athletics event for the year, our Inter-House Cross-County will take place on Friday 22^nd March from 9:00am.

As always, our students have been training since the beginning of the year during their morning endurance runs and have been made familiar with the course in readiness for the cross-county day.  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 a point for their house.

We encourage all students to wear their house colour on the day.

These are:

Palmerston-Red

Johnstone-Green

Geraldton-Yellow

Students must wear joggers to complete the cross-country.

Parents, Carers and families are encouraged to come along and cheer our students on.

Our P&C are offering tuckshop on the day, please check our Facebook page for more details.

NAPLAN

Over the next two weeks our students in Year 3 and 5 are participating in NAPLAN (Writing 13^th March, Reading 18^th March, Language Conventions 19^th March, Numeracy 20^th March). NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are already learning through our school curriculum. Parents and carers often ask how they can assist their children to ensure they perform well in the tests. There is no real studying for the tests as the concepts and skills tested have been taught and consolidated a number of times.

Parents can help however by ensuring the following 3 steps are followed.

A Good Night’s Sleep – It is important that students get a good night’s sleep before each of the tests. Research recommends a minimum of 9 hours a night for children’s brains to develop properly. Students need to be well rested so that they are alert and ready at the commencement of the day.

A Healthy Breakfast and Lunch – The most important meal of the day is even more crucial on testing days. Ensure that students have a substantial breakfast and healthy lunch so that they have sufficient energy to carry them through the testing periods. Avoid those processed foods that are high in sugar and result in spikes in blood sugar levels, followed by a drop in energy.

Reassurance – Reassure your child that there is nothing new in the tests. All the questions are based around work covered in class during the year. All we ask is that they have a go and try their best.

We are confident that all our students are well prepared and will give each of the tests a red hot go.

Regards,

Tania Kaitara                       Khadeeja Mohammed

Principal                                Deputy Principal

School Calendar

Wed 13th Mar - NAPLAN begins (Year 3&5)

Mon 18th Mar - P&C Meeting

Thu 21st Mar - Year 5 Parent Camp Info Night

Fri 22nd Mar - Inter-House Cross Country

Mon 25th Mar - Year 6 Orientation morning

Tue 26th Apr - Parent Teacher Interviews

Fri 29th Mar - GOOD FRIDAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Other School News

Hi, my name is Maria (Miss Maria) and I’m very excited to be the new Social Worker here at Goondi State School on Tuesdays!

Prep Capers

Week 8 already, the term is flying by. The next two weeks the prep students are showing us what they have learned this term with assessments in writing and maths. 

Students are working hard to decode words by chopping the word into letter sounds and blending the sounds into the words on the page. We have been working hard to expand our writing and working out the first sound of words and chopping the word sounds we know. The level of writing is growing each week and students are trying to use different words for their descriptions.

In Maths we have continued learning the numbers to 10 and representing these numbers in different ways. Students have also been learning about more and less, ordering from smallest to biggest and biggest to smallest and sorting items into collections. There have been some great ways of sorting items beyond colour, shape and size such as things that go on roads, air and water.

Cross Country is coming up and we are getting excited to try our best and support our houses. Remember to wear house colours on the 22^nd March.

Regards

Prep team

Year 1 Capers

It is a very busy time of the term here in Year 1 with testing being conducted over the next 2 weeks.  It is really important that students are getting to bed early and having a nutritional breakfast each day to sustain their concentration during testing.  

In English this week the students will be completing their last practice writing an imaginative recount before the assessment begins next week.   We have been really impressed with the creativity of storylines and the enthusiasm showed by all students towards writing each week.   

In Maths this week we have been learning about pictographs, horizontal bar graphs, vertical bar graphs and tally marks. Maths testing will be conducted throughout next week.

Our HASS And Science assessments have begun this week.Grandparents day will be on Monday week 10 the 25th of march at 2:30 pm.

Leigh, Steven and Fiona

Year 2 Capers

Welcome to Week 8! This term has really flown by with all of our hard work in Year 2.

In English, we have been continuing our exploration of classic fairy tales and adapted fairy tales. The imaginative ideas students have come up with when writing their own adapted narratives has blown the teachers away!

Mathematics sees us continuing our work with number and place value focusing on hundreds numbers. We also have been learning important skills such as reading time to the hour and half hour on an analogue clock, creating and interpreting picture graphs and using the box strategy to solve number word problems.

Construction will begin soon for our Design and Technology unit. It is almost time to start planning and designing our houses for The Three Little Pigs. Both the students and teachers are very excited to see the innovative, waterproof and strong houses that will be made.

We have a few important dates coming up in the next few weeks. Cross Country will be held in Week 9, on Friday the 22^nd of March. Students are encouraged to show their support and wear their house team colours on the day. Please ensure the shirt is sun safe with sleeves and your child has a hat and sunscreen on. Parent Teacher Interviews will be held on Tuesday the 26^th of March. You will be able to make your bookings soon on the SOBS website.

Have a great week!

Year 2 Team,

Miss Vandal, Mrs Pike and Mrs Spataro

Year 3 Capers

The end of term is here, which means it’s assessment time. Students have worked extremely hard across all subject areas preparing for both the NAPLAN assessment, which starts this week, and our regular end of term assessment.

Students have started their speaking task and an ‘All About Me’ A3 sheet was sent home last week. Students are to complete the sheet at home to ensure spelling of family names are correct. They are to submit it to teachers for proof reading and then they will receive a second copy to create and decorate as the good copy. We would like to select the best two from each class to display in the show later next term. Students will then present their information towards the end of week 9 and 10.

In Maths, we are learning the three- and four-time tables, using the vertical algorithm to solve addition and subtraction problems and consolidating concepts.

Our HASS unit started this week and we investigated the meaning of participating and contributing to our community. This is an inquiry unit where students learn to pose questions on events we celebrate or commemorate before researching the answers to create a powerpoint presentation.

Please keep in mind Parent-Teacher Interview bookings will open next week and interviews are Week 10, Tuesday afternoon.

Until next time, Ashley, Robyn, Janelle and Amanda.

Year 4 Capers

As we near the end of Week 8, we are starting to prepare for end of term assessments. In each subject we are working on revising content in preparation for end of term assessments next week. Please ensure that your child is getting enough sleep, as next week will be a big week for them.

In Technology, students are continuing to work on their build a bridge a challenge. Student’s bridges are starting to come together nice and are looking fantastic.

Parent Teacher Interviews will be held in Week 10 on Tuesday. The bookings will open today, Wednesday, we look forward to meeting with you. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Miss Reitano or Mrs Sulter.

Kind regards,

Miss Jade Reitano and Mrs Jenna Sulter

Year 5 Capers

With less than 3 weeks remaining of Term 1, we are very busy in Grade 5. NAPLAN testing is on Wednesday this week (Week 8) and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Week 9. Please ensure your child is getting a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast the morning of the tests. Please remind them to just do their best on the tests and not to be stressed about it. At the end of the day, it is one test and they can shine in many other ways! We are also beginning end of term testing and rapping up all term one units. Please remember that attendance is essential to give your child the best opportunity to complete all assessment tasks.

Reminders:

• Return camp forms (orange forms) filled out and signed as soon as possible
• Parent information night Thursday 21^st March 5:30pm start
• Camp dates: 29^th April – 1^st May

Many thanks,
Rebecca Nolan, Kayla Hutchins and Rhonda O’Brien

Year 6 Capers

Hello Year 6 families! We have been busy in class this week reviewing topics covered in this first term, and completing assessment, and this will continue in Week 9 as well. We are so proud of how respectful, hardworking and resilient the students have been so far as we’ve completed assessment! All students have been reminded about the importance of a good night’s sleep each night, and a healthy breakfast to start the day, to ensure they’re ready to work to the best of their ability each day at school.

Letters went home last week with details of the Innisfail State College transition program. This program is open to all students, regardless of the high school they are intending to enrol at, as it prepares them for many aspects of secondary school. The letter includes information about a parent session available as well. If you have any questions, you can contact Innisfail State College via the details on the letter. Students who have achieved high academic results will also be invited to one or more HOTSHOTS sessions at the college – these students will be advised of this by a letter given by Matt Sharrock from ISC when he comes to speak to us at school about the transition program. Our classes have come up with a list of questions about high school to pose to some of the current Year 7 students, who we’ll connect with via an online video call next week during Mr Sharrock’s visit.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Melanie Worth, Nathan Worth and Matilda Wolff.

L.O.T.E News

Saluti (Greetings)

It is a pleasure to be at Goondi State School teaching students Italian in years 5 and 6.  Students learning Italian listen to, speak, read and say Italian to gain understanding.

In our Italian lessons we will continue learning Italian songs.  Songs help to enhance pronunciation and increase fluency.  Ask the students to sing the songs to you.  Year 5 students are learning to answer “Quanti anni hai? (“How old are you?”) and beginning oral assessment. Year 6 students are listening to and learning how to complete conversations between two or more people using known and new vocabulary. 

Exercise books and worksheets are collected regularly and feedback provided.  Encourage your child to speak Italian with you and discuss what they are learning!

Arrivederci (Goodbye)

Signora Lazzarini

Sports News

Hi everyone,

In between rain events, we have been busy preparing for out INTER-HOUSE CROSS COUNTRY COMPETITION on Friday 22nd March; which is next week. All students can wear House Colours and we begin with the Prep races at 0900 sharp. Parents are welcome to come and support their children.

Tiffanie Bulstrode,

Phys. Ed Teacher.

Community News