Term 4 Week 5 2022
- Principal's News by Tracy Egan
- Team Mango We All Belong!
- Prep News by Melinda White
- Year 1 News by Kylie Vaughan
- Year 2 News by Ellaine Warner
- Year 3 News by Michelle Alcorn
- Year 4 News by Ben Mills
- Year 5 and Year 6 News by Martin Winney
- Curriculum News by Suzette Holm, Jessica Rivett and Danielle O'Brien
- Sporting News by The PE Department
- News from our Partners
- Community News
Celebrate Tuckshop Day
It’s Tuckshop Day on Friday 4 November. We are so fortunate to have a great team at MHSS Canteen and SOLE Café and we recognise the hard work, dedication and contribution of the staff and volunteers who work there. They provide healthy, tasty food and drinks with a smile to students, parents and staff. I encourage you to send thanks to these terrific people for all their efforts! We are so grateful!
Positive Play Choices
We are committed to ensuring students connect with others in a safe and supportive environment. During play times, we offer a range of clubs and activities to support students to build new connections and try new experiences. It is wonderful to see students making new friendships as they explore common interests. Some children are very happy to use their playtime to explore the playground or chat with friends. Other children like the structure and focus that clubs bring. Below are our Term 4 clubs. You may like to encourage your child to try something new!
PCYC OSHC
Firstly I would like to thank everyone for your patience as we have transitioned from Helping Hands to PCYC Outside School Hours Care. I acknowledge there have been some concerns and the transition has not been as smooth as we had wished for. I am working with the Co-ordinator Angela and the Managers from PCYC to assist them refine their processes to align with our school values. As you may be aware, the school does not run the OSHC service and they have their own complaints management process. If you have concerns, please contact the PCYC service on mangohilloshc@pcyc.org.au . If you wish to escalate the matter, please email complaints to the area manager oshcsm8@pcyc.org.au .They can then contact you directly to discuss your concerns and follow up to ensure that all actions being put in place are working.
You can assist by ensuring you notify PCYC if your child is away and will not need the service each day.
We are committed to working with PCYC to help them ensure every student attending OSHC is safe, happy and supported.
Ditto Show
Last Thursday, the Ditto Keep Safe Adventure Show came to school for students in Prep and Year 1. Students danced and sang along with Ditto the lion cub. The show is presented by Bravehearts, Australia’s leading child protection advocate specific to sexual assault. The show is designed to empower students with the tools to keep safe and to educate them, with a focus on resiliency, while building confidence and awareness. It also teaches children what to do if they feel unsafe and unsure.
The show is a non-confronting and engaging way to teach children personal safety and encourages children to speak out about any unsafe situation. Children learn Ditto’s three rules.
- We all have the right to feel safe with people.
- It’s okay to say no if you feel unsafe or unsure.
- Nothing is so yucky that you can’t tell someone about it.
Further information can be found on the Bravehearts website:
Focus of the Week
The Care Class focus that will be delivered this Friday is ‘Problem Solving in the playground”. We will be consolidating this focus throughout next week.
Throughout week 6, teachers will be teaching students about strategies they can use when a problem happens in the playground. This topic has the purpose of developing Care for self and Care for others. Our students learn about solving problems with peers by using the High 5. Below are some strategies students can use.
- Talk Friendly: Use a calm voice, maintain eye contact, confident body language.
- Talk firmly: Use an assertive voice, slightly raised, tell them to stop it.
- Ignore: Do not make eye contact, count to five in your head slowly, take deep breaths.
- Walk away: Stand tall, head up high, walk to a safety zone (teacher).
- Report: Walk away and tell a staff member.
Carols by Candlelight
On Tuesday 6 December we will be hosting our first Carols by Candlelight event on the school oval (weather permitting). Gates will open at 4:30pm for a 5pm start. The idea is for this to be an informal community event where families can come along, bring some snacks, sit on their picnic blanket and join in with the singing of carols led by year level groups. P & C will be selling chips and drinks and whole pizzas will also be on sale through QKR app. More details about this will be coming soon.
The year levels performing on the night will be Years 1, 3 and 5 but all year levels are welcome to come along and sing. Just like with the concert, classes will be grouped together to perform one song each. This is non-compulsory, informal event so whoever turns up on the night, will get up and perform. Students will be encouraged to wear Christmas clothes.
On the night, children will sit with their families and join their class when it is time to perform. They will re-join their families at the end of their song.
BYOxLink - Company Portal: Parent drop-in sessions
Don’t wait until it stops working. Get your child’s iPad connected now!
To support the continued roll-out of the Company Portal app across the school, our IT officer, Mr Laurie, and Head of eLearning, Mr Mills, will be available every Tuesday afternoon in the Wandani Centre (in the Piazza, opposite the tuckshop) between 2.30 and 4.30pm, from Weeks 4 to 7, to support parents and carers who are having difficulties connecting with the app.
Bring your child’s iPad, school username and password along and we will help you get onboard!
Think U Know Cybersafety presentation for parents
Save the date in your calendars! On Wednesday 30 November, we will be hosting a cybersafety presentation for parents, presented by the team at ThinkUKnow. For more information about what they will sharing with us as well as access to resources, checkout their website: http://www.thinkuknow.org.au/
Finance Reminders
Paying by BPOINT – Use correct Invoice Number
Please ensure you are using the correct invoice number when paying through BPoint. When the correct invoice number is used it will auto match to the amount owing. If you don’t update the invoice number each time and use a previous invoice number to goes to an unallocated area and requires manual matching and delays to your payments.
Credits on Accounts – Need authorisation to apply
Please remember to send an email or advise on permission note if you would like a credit on your account applied to an outstanding invoice. We require your permission to apply credits and to ensure we are using the credit where you choose.
Student Resource Scheme Payment Plans
SRS invoices will be emailed shortly. Please contact the office as soon as possible if you are experiencing financial stress and would like to sign up for a payment plan. This will ensure your child/ren have all the resources needed for learning.
Taekwondo Success
Congratulations to Hugh and George from Year 3 who have recently won the QLD state Taekwondo championships and have been selected in the QLD state team to compete at the national Taekwondo championships in Bendigio VIC on3 and 4 November. We wish Hugh and George the best of luck!
Did you know?
It’s the middle of our last term of our first year of school. Can you believe we are nearly big enough for Year 1?
We are working so hard to push ourselves to be the best readers we can be, before we leave Prep.
Did you know, that if we leave our first year of school thinking we can read and being off the “starting blocks”, we will be more inclined to read over our long holiday break? And then that success, breeds more success. Because the more we read, the more words we know, the more we comprehend and...
The more we read. And the more we read, the more words we know, the more confident we are at reading and the more likely we are to pick up a book...
And the cycle continues forever.
You can help us to become readers by following the “To-With-By” way
Reading TO us...
Reading to your children, no matter if they can read a bit themselves. It’s such lovely connection time when reading together. Plus you’ll be able to enjoy books with more complexity if you read them!
Reading WITH us...
Modelling the way! Do your children see you reading books for pleasure? Do you spend time surrounded by books?
(Helping us to) Read BY ourselves...
Take the time each day to support us to practise reading using our home reader. This is supposed to be a fun activity and the books are chosen by our teachers so they aren’t too challenging for your child to tackle at home.
We have five weeks left to make as many gains in our reading as we can in our Prep year, before we leave for a long holiday. Let’s all work together to become the best Prep Readers we can be!
Deputy Principal - Prep
mwhit37@eq.edu.au
Reading in Year 1
On any given day of the week, you will walk into our Year 1 classrooms and see our students reading. Sometimes this reading happens with small groups while on other occasions this can be with whole class. Whatever the grouping, our teachers strategically plan their reading lessons with specific purposes in mind.
Guided reading occurs when a teacher works with small groups of students who are at a similar point in their reading development. Each student reads, softly or silently, the same text individually. The teacher helps the students to decode and work out the unknown words using a range of reading strategies. They also guide a discussion around the text’s meaning.
Shared reading usually occurs with the whole class and involves students listening to a text read aloud by the teacher. The purpose of these sessions is for students to develop their comprehension skills. At the moment our students are reading the books from the Lighthouse Keeper’s series by Ronda and David Armitage. They are learning to identify how the author uses the setting and a range of problems to create an interesting story.
Modelled reading can occur with a whole class or a small group. It usually involves students listening to a big book read aloud by the teacher. The purpose of these sessions is for students to follow the words the teacher reads with the teacher modelling strategies for decoding and comprehending.
Independent reading occurs when students practise reading on their own at their level.
Reading with your child is one of the best ways to help them become a better reader. The best place to start is to make reading part of your everyday routine. Some top tips for reading at home are the following.
- Find a place where you can read together.
- Keep books in a place that is easy for your child to access.
- Let your child choose the book and turn the pages.
- Talk about what your child thinks the story is about and what will happen next.
- Help your child to make up their own stories.
Learning in Year 2
We know that this time of the year can sometimes feel like the busiest time of the year. That applies to adults and it also applies to our little friends who are constantly picking up on our moods and emotions. Our teachers are focussed on supporting your children to achieve their best academically, but are also focussed on promoting your children’s wellbeing at the same time. We are providing students with regular Ready to Learn breaks. These breaks are designed to provide students with movement opportunities and social opportunities. The breaks give your children a chance to recharge their cognitive battery too. Each week, all classes do Circle Time to give all members of the class a voice on the matters that are important in that class community.
Instrumental Music recruitment for 2023
This week, the recruitment process for our 2023 Instrumental Music Junior program continues. I want to say “Job well done” to all our students who applied for the program. I know students can’t do this without your encouragement and support. We have 65 applicants for a total of 40 places in the Junior program. Whilst this means that some students will miss out for 2023, they will still have had such a great experience being brave, applying and going through the selection process. They are all superstars to us! Thank you to Ms Fiona Newey who is our Instrumental Music teacher leading the selections for this year’s Year 2 students.
Thank you
On behalf of the whole Year 2 team, thank you very much for all the support you express to your child’s class teacher not only on World Teachers’ Day, but each and every day. We care deeply about your little treasures and are thrilled to see the growth they are showing in their learning and friendships.
Take care and have a wonderful week
Ellaine Warner
Deputy Principal- Year 2
ewarn23@eq.edu.au
Respect for Self and Others
In year 3 we have been learning lots about respect. What does respect means? It is the way we talk to each other, the way we care for others and build relationships. It is treating others the way we would like to be treated ourselves.
Over the past few weeks the Year 3 students have been taking part in a weekly circle time. In this time they have been learning about respect and understanding of each other’s needs, differences and perspectives. Some of our ‘opening up’ topics have been focussed on how we communicate with one another and what to do when we might disagree with our friends. We have been practising our listening ears through class discussions which is helping us demonstrate respect by allowing us to hear each other’s perspective’s. Through Circle Time we are learning to listen to each other’s perspectives and together problem solve alternative ways to social situations, respectfully.
Hats Hats Hats!
Please be sure your child is wearing their hat each and every day. With the new playground open and the beautiful warm days our students are eager to get out in the sun and run around. However, no hat, no sun play. Students without a hat are being redirected to the undercover areas to ensure they are protected from the sun. The lost property has lots of hats, so if they have lost one it may be there waiting!
Have a great week
Michelle Alcorn
Deputy Principal- Year 3
malco14@eq.edu.au
Persuasion in Year 4
The purpose of this term’s writing unit for Year 4 has been to create a written argument, convincing readers of a point of view. Our Year 4 students have been honing their persuasive writing skills carefully over a number of weeks, creating some very persuasive texts!
Throughout the unit, our students have learned how to structure a persuasive text and the paragraphs within this, as well as purposefully use a range of language features including text connectives, rhetorical questions, evaluative noun groups, verbs with high modality, figurative language and a range of sentence types for effect. Our teachers have been working hard to support students to understand the purpose of their text and how authors make deliberate choices in text language and structure, to appeal to a particular audience.
While visiting classrooms, I have had students present their arguments to me on a wide range of topics. There have been some things I thought I could never be convinced of but Year 4, with their newly acquired persuasive writing skills, are getting pretty good at making me think twice! Parents, don’t be surprised if your child starts putting their persuasive skills to use leading up to the school holidays!
Have a super week
Ben Mills
Deputy Principal – Year 4
bxmil3@eq.edu.au
Care for Learning in Years 5 and 6
Thank you to all of the classes that have invited me into their classroom over the last week. I loved visiting 6H as they engaged in a rally coach to build connections within the classroom and also to allow students the opportunity to learn from each other. It was heart-warming to hear students assist their friends to build their knowledge of patterns and algebraic rules. I also loved visiting 5I and 5K as student participated in a Rate the Response collaborative activity. Students examined two writing samples against the scale as well as their individual next step to develop clarity of success. Students collaboratively bumped up their work following their learnings. Well done Year 5 and 6!
Year 6 Graduation
This week we will be sending home the official invitation for our Year 6 Gradation. The graduation night is on Wednesday 7 December commencing at 5pm – 9pm in Gigum Hall. The night will involve the formalities of speeches and recognising each individual student as well as food vans, a disco and the opportunity to connect with friends and families and to celebrate the great achievement of our students. On the night we will have child minding facilities which we will advertise once it is confirmed. We look forward to a special evening!
Student Leader Passports
A reminder that Friday 4 November is fast approaching and this is the due date for the Student Leader Passports. If a student would like to be considered for a leadership position they need to have the passport completed and submitted to the office by the end of this date. Please encourage your child to work through the process of completing the passport. We look forward to building their ability to be leaders in our school. From here, Ms Egan and I will interview all students next week that have nominated for a leadership position and use this to shortlist our candidates.
Martin Winney
Deputy Principal –Year 5 & 6
mwinn7@eq.edu.au
Accelerated Reader
Congratulations to Amaan who this week reached the extraordinary total of 7 million words! We were very excited to add Amaan’s photo to our special display in the Hub!
Borrowing
As we near the end of the school year it is almost time to return all of our library books to the Hub. If you are still striving to reach a special goal (e.g. 1 million words) please speak with Ms Holm to make sure that you are supported to achieve as much as possible. In the meantime if you have any books that you have finished with, please return these to the Hub as soon as possible. We really love to have all of our books back so we can sort and organise them ready for the new year. It is our policy that for any lost or damaged books that the family replaces this book with another. If an AR book has been lost we would prefer that the replacement book is the same title and author, as these books are often hard to find. Of course sometimes at this time of the year ‘lost’ books can be found in tidy trays, at the back of bookshelves or even under beds. It might be worth starting to look for them now!
Scholastic Book Club
We are still waiting for the arrival of all of our book club orders, but once they arrive we will sort and distribute them to the students.
Money in Maths
This term our students have been busy learning about money. As children grow and start to make choices, they learn that people, things and money have value. These concepts form the foundation for understanding the importance of spending, sharing and saving. Understanding how money works and making financial decisions are important life skills, that can be taught as soon as children can count.
Students in Year 1 have been learning to recognise Australian coins according to their value. Our Year 2 students are busy learning to recognise the value of money and solving simple money calculations. In Year 3 our students begin to represent money value in various ways and correctly count out change. Our Year 4 students are busy solving purchasing problems and our Year 5 students are planning a ‘Market Day’ to show their skills in financial maths and budgeting. When talking to many students about their money units in maths, many of our friends said money in maths is fun!
We look forward to visiting our Year 5’s ‘Market Day’ in the coming weeks.
Have a fantastic week
Suzette Holm, Jessica Rivett and Danielle O'Brien
shol0@eq.edu.au
A reminder of our big dates this term in PE.
Big PE Dates in Term 4
- 1 December (Thursday, Wk 9) – MHSS Swimming Carnival (8-9yrs)
- 2 December (Friday, Wk 9) – MHSS Swimming Carnival (10-12yrs)
Year 3-4 AFL Training Program
A reminder that our optional afterschool 5-week AFL training program for year 3 and 4 students started this week. Details below.
Dates/Times: Tuesdays 3.00pm-4.00pm (25 Oct, 1, 8, 15, 22 Nov)
Venue: MHSS Oval
Supervision/Pick Up: Students will be supervised by MHSS staff during the training time. Students will then be dismissed from the oval at 4.00pm. Please make necessary arrangements for your son/daughter to get home/be picked up.
Cost: Nil
Forms: If your son/daughter is interested, a permission form needs to be collected from Mr Hills in the PE Office and returned prior to the first session.
Activity Risk: Medium - Students will be playing a modified game of AFL (touch). Mouthguards are not compulsory for AFL training sessions, but are recommended.
Equipment/Uniform: No equipment is required but it is advisable for students to wear a change of clothes if they like. Students can also provide their own protective equipment (mouthguards) and can wear football boots (no metal tags), but again this is optional. If they do not have football boots, normal shoes can be worn.
MHSS Year 3-6 Swimming Carnival
Later this term our MHSS Swimming Carnival for all Year 3-6 students will be held. Our goal is to ensure all students can participate in a variety of swimming races and have an enjoyable day with their peers.
Students in Years 3-6 who are turning 8 and 9 years old in 2022 (Born 2013 and 2014) will compete on the first day, which will be Thursday 1 December (week 9). Students in Years 3-6 turning 10, 11 and 12 years old in 2022 (Born 2010, 2011 and 2012) will compete on a second day, which will be Friday 2 December (week 9).
Students compete at sporting events, including at representative levels, in age groups, not in year levels. Therefore, our carnival days run to align with this process.
Below is the initial parent information for both days. Students will receive more information at school in the coming weeks. This will include a permission and race nomination form, which will need to be returned for your son/daughter to attend. There is no cost for parents associated with the swimming carnival days.
Mr Hills & Mr Newell, Miss Richards and Mr Lisha
Physical Education Teachers
Uniform Shop News
Uniform Shop hours during the term are.
Monday - 8:00am-10:30am
Wednesday 1:30pm-4:00pm
Thursday 1:30pm-4:00pm
Friday 8:00am-10:30am
Are you starting to think about new uniforms for next year? You are welcome to come and see us during our regular opening hours for the rest of the term. Alternatively we are running appointments again from Jan 10-13, which will save you from long queues in the hot weather.
Bookings can be made at Wearitto Mango Hill SS | Scheduling and Booking Website (simplybook.me)
Online orders - can be placed through our website any time at www.wearitto.com.au/schools/mango-hill-state-school
Orders are packed through the uniform shop during our opening hours and an email is sent to let you know when your order is ready to be picked up, or, if you'd like your student to bring the uniforms home with them, email us at mangohill@wearitto.com.au with your student's name and class name and we can get it to them.
