Term 1 Week 4 2023
- Principal's News by Tracy Egan
- Team Mango We All Belong!
- Prep News by Michelle Alcorn
- Year 1 News by Melinda White
- Year 2 News by Kylie Vaughan
- Year 3 News by Ellaine Warner
- Year 4 News by Danielle O'Brien
- Year 5 News by Martin Winney
- Year 6 News by Ben Mills
- Curriculum News
- Sporting News by The PE Department
- News from our Partners
- Community News
Deliberate Decisions for Connection & Clarity
Our 2023 priorities focus on the deliberate decisions we can make to strengthen learning, wellbeing and behaviour.
- Priority 1-High-impact pedagogical choices in response to formative assessment (clarity)
- Priority 2-Develop a whole school approach to regulation and restoration (connection)
We want to ensure connection and clarity for ALL students including Students with Disability and First Nations students.
We know that the decisions our staff make have a vital impact on the students. We are working to ensure evidence-based high-impact teaching decisions support every student to achieve their potential.
Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) Professional Learning
As we work toward developing a whole school approach to restoration and regulation, we have engaged with the Berry Street Education Model. This week we partnered with 6 other schools to host 2 days training for 100 staff.
The Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) provides strategies that enables teachers to increase engagement of students with complex, unmet learning needs and to successfully improve all students’ self-regulation, relationships, wellbeing, growth and academic achievement.
We look forward to sharing more over the coming months as we refine our current practices. For more information about BSEM go to https://www.berrystreet.org.au/what-we-do/education-services
P & C Meeting
It was wonderful to see 28 parents at our P & C Meeting on Monday with a large number of new faces.
The P & C will be aiming to raise at least $50 000 this year and will donate this money to the school to enhance our resources with books, maths equipment, science resources, PE equipment and resources for the arts.
Fundraising this year will include an Easter raffle, Tea towel fundraiser, Mother’s Day stall, Colour Explosion Run, Father’s Day stall, disco and market night. They are also exploring a few other options. For these events to occur, we need willing parents and volunteers to assist.
The next P & C Meeting will be our AGM on Monday 13 March followed by the March General Meeting. All parents are welcome!
2023 Costs for Parents
The 2023 Costs for Parents for incursions, excursions, swimming, camps and other special events is included below. This was endorsed by the P & c on Monday night. I hope this outline will help families plan their budget for the year. If you would like to enter a payment plan for any event, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly office staff who will be happy to assist.
Company Portal – explained
In late 2022, our school made a change to how we connect school-owned and student-owned devices to the internet. Previously, student and staff devices were connected to iDET (one of the Department’s Wi-Fi networks). We are now connecting student and staff devices to EQNET, which is a safer and more secure Wi-Fi network for our students. In order to do this, we have requested all student-owned devices to download and sign-in to the app ‘Intune Company Portal’.
What does Company Portal do?
Below is a diagram that highlights the role of Company Portal for one-to-one devices. The department has selected Microsoft Intune as its mobile device management (MDM) tool. One-to-one devices in schools need to enrol into the Microsoft Intune Company Portal (Intune). Company Portal will do 2 things to support your child’s learning:
- Download a profile to the device that will support connection to the Department’s safe and secure internet
- Make available all of the free apps on the school’s suggested app list, including any updates to this throughout the year
Make available all of the free apps on the school’s suggested app list, including any updates to this !
School staff can only access school information through Intune and cannot:
- see personal information
- monitor what happens on the device
- track or locate the device
- see information on installed personal applications (other than school applications)
- uninstall applications, including personal ones.
Benefits
- Enables Bring Your Own devices to access internet, mail and learning resources on the school network.
- A more secure method of wireless network authentication.
- Updates wireless connection automatically
- Apps all in one place, easy to install and save time
How do I set it up?
Watch this video to learn more about Company Portal and how to set it up on your child’s device.
https://mediasite.eq.edu.au/mediasite/Play/bbe46710d2c24274a0a99cba446a92031d
Where can I get further assistance?
- Further information is provided on the Fact Sheet below.
- Our IT Technician Mark Laurie will be available each Monday morning (7.30-8.15am) and Monday afternoon (2.45-4pm) in the Wandani centre starting on Monday 27 February.
- Our school website also has information at https://mangohillss.eq.edu.au/curriculum/epal-program
School Photos
On the 20/03, 21/03 and 22/03 we will have our annual school photos. The timetable will be sent home closer to the days.
Families should receive an envelope for each student in the coming days. Inside the envelope is instructions on how to purchase and information on the packages you can purchase. You can go to the website www.advancedlife.com.au to order using their online code which is found on the ordering envelope. Instructions on how to place an online order can be found inside the envelope. You may also also order and pay using cash by filling out the envelope and returning it back to school on the day of the photos.
Sibling Photos - If you would like a sibling photo, please collect a sibling envelope from the office or order online when you are ordering individual photos.
Special Group photos (eg band)- Ordering for these will take place after the photos are taken. Parents will receive an email on how to order these in the coming weeks.
Please contact Advanced Life on 1300 728 972 or www.advancedlife.com.au/contact if you have any queries.
Have a wonderful week
Tracy Egan
Principal
tegan4@eq.edu.au
Focus of the Week
The Care Class focus that will be delivered this Friday, is “Care Class Expectations and Team Building”. This focus will continue in classrooms throughout the following week. Students will be participating in cooperative team activities, that will allow them to show manners, take turns and play fairly.
We use the Four Cares to help us
- I care for self at school by following instructions.
- I care for others by showing manners, taking turns and playing fairly.
- I care for my learning and I always do my best in Care Class.
- I care for the school environment by taking care of the resources in my classroom/care class room.
Why is team building important for kids? It ensures individuals don’t just focus on themselves but make sure entire groups function well. The advantages of team building activities are many, kids improve problem-solving, listening, leadership, and creative thinking.
Classic Team Building games include the following.
- Human Knot Kids Version. The famous human knot game is often tried with adults in co-working environments, but it is actually quite a fun and useful kids team building ...
- Traffic Lights! This is a classic team building kids’ game which can be modified to increase the chemistry and team building between kids.
- Forehead Dots. This is a really easy activity game to set up, but really hard for kids to solve! ...
The following www site will have further information for fun games to play at home
https://www.unicefkidpower.org/fun-team-building-activities-for-kids/
Mango Hill State School has engaged with the UQ Health and Rehabilitation Clinics to provide a Hearing Screening Program to our Prep students in April.
This is an excellent opportunity for your child to have his/her hearing screened; even if your child has had their hearing tested before as a child’s hearing may change over time.
The cost of the screening is $18.00 per child. To secure your child’s place in the hearing screener program, please return the questionnaire and signed consent form that will be sent out this week to your child’s classroom teacher or the school office by Friday 31 March. You will then be invoiced to make payment of $18.00 before the hearing screening date.
Please contact Elissa Chambers (Inclusive Learning Teacher) at echam25@eq.edu.au if you have any questions regarding the upcoming hearing screens.
QParents - Term 2 paper copies of permission forms will cease
All parents are strongly encouraged to sign up to QParents.
QParents is a user-friendly portal accessible via app or web browser, providing parents with secure online access to information about their child’s schooling.
In Term 2 we will no longer print permission forms for excursions and incursions. This decision was made to not only made to support our sustainability efforts by saving paper and electricity but now that forms can be signed electronically via QParents it will save parents and carers time!
Simply follow the links from your email invitation sent to your email each week. Complete the verification process or drop in and see our staff to verify your identity and then you will have access to your child’s :
- Electronic permission notes
- Invoices - pay online via the links
- Attendance – you can advise us via the app if your child will be absent
- Report cards.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call the office.
Volunteers
Thank you to those parents who joined us at Monday's Volunteer Induction Session. It was great to see such a huge turn out again. We have two more sessions planned for this term. If you would like to volunteer in your child's classroom or around the school this year please come along to one of the following sessions.
- Friday 10 March at 8.45am
- Monday 20 March at 2.00pm.
Every day matters!
Our little Preps have been doing a wonderful job starting their day, ready to learn. For most Preps we can see that they are getting to school just before the 8.15am bell, sitting very patiently playing in the supervised undercover area and transitioning to class smoothly. Starting our day on time is very important in Prep. The first 15 minutes of every day sets our students up for success. It gives them time to connect and check in with their classroom teacher and peers, go through the visual timetable so they have predictability to their day and practise some of their early letter and letter sound knowledge they have been learning in class. Every day, starting on time IS important! Please help our Preps start their day strong. Be sure to check they have all their essentials packed, lunch box, hat and drink bottle. Keep a routine that helps them ‘move through the motions’ so they have a successful start to their day.
Morning Stop Drop Go
Thank you to all our families accessing the morning Stop Drop and Go. Our Senior students are loving making those positive connections and supporting our Prep students to transition to their under cover area. Please know this support will continue till further notice. You will be given advanced noticed through the Prep weekly update email of any changes to this routine.
Have a great week
Michelle Alcorn
Deputy Principal- Prep
malco14@eq.edu.au
Fairytales in Year 1
We’re exploring fairytales in Year 1! We’re learning to choose interesting ideas for our stories that will entertain an audience. This is tricky work. Ideas and thoughts are what makes our writing interesting... and the “mechanics” like handwriting and spelling are what makes our writing easier to read - and we have to focus on all of it at the same time. Tricky!
Many of us are still automating key skills like matching letters and sounds and remembering how to write letters. The more automated the “mechanics” become, the more brain power we have left to use in the actual construction of the text - the ideas and the sequence and the vocabulary choices.
How can our parents and carers help us to become better writers?
* Reading to us, often. Listening to stories helps us to think creatively and build pictures in our minds. We learn how authors put their words together to make sentences and stories entertaining.
* Helping us to practise our letter formation. Does your child form letters top to bottom? An easy activity is an alphabet race. They should be able to write the alphabet in under two minutes - in order, with letters formed correctly. Use a timer and see how many times they can do this in two minutes. Try and beat their best time everyday.
* Sight word practice. Some of those pesky sight words can be tricky to recognise! When the recognition of these is automated and speedy, it’s easier for us to read and write.
* Encourage us to write at home. Have those writing implements easily accessible. Are pencils and paper in view? I can’t seem to stop my children from “stealing” my sticky notes and pencils and notepads... (the sharpies, however, are hidden). They write notes to each other, notes to us, cards to the cat, posters about staying out of bedrooms, spy clues, stories... a weekly cleaning job in my house could be listed as collecting all the bits of paper and “moving them” (putting most in the recycling bin and keeping the hilarious ones for laughs).
Have a great week
Melinda White
Deputy Principal- Year 1
mwhit37@eq.edu.au
Exploring Counting Patterns
Our Year 2s are doing a wonderful job exploring counting patterns in Maths. They are doing lots of skip counting in 2s, 3s and 5s both forwards and backwards as well as creating their own number patterns starting from different numbers.
Look at this great work from the children in 2R using number lines and counters to represent different counting sequences.
PHOTO 1
There are lots of ways you can help your child develop their confidence with skip counting.
- Practise counting aloud in 2s, 3s and 5s both forwards and backwards. Start at different numbers not just from 2, 3 and 5.
- Have your child count every day items counting them in 2s (e.g. socks, shoes, eyes, knives and forks), 5s (e.g. fingers, toes).
- Count coins and notes of the same denomination (e.g. Count amounts made with $2 coins or $5 coins/notes etc.).
STEM in Year 2
The students in Year 2 participate in a one hour STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic) lesson every week. This lesson is taught by one of our fabulous specialist STEM teachers.
This term the students are exploring changes they can make to materials by bending, stretching and scrunching. Have a look at the fabulous creations these superstars from 2P and 2W have made!
Have a wonderful week
Learning in Year 3
It was my pleasure to join 3W for a Math lesson this week. Students have been learning how to continue number patterns and they were learning how to identify and apply a rule to determine the future term of patterns. I was very impressed by their collaborative learning as they used a Rally Coach structure to pair together and coach each other as they learned. Students then independently applied their learning. How clever!
Playing in Year 3
Each break, our Year 3 students have multiple play options to choose from. We encourage students to Pick, Stay and Play. Soccer Club is a popular choice each break. A teacher helps students form 2 teams and then referees the game. Students must follow the rules, show good sportsmanship, show respect for their competitors and as in all good games, the referee’s call is absolutely final. Swearing is unacceptable on the soccer field (or anywhere else at school). The referee will yellow card or red card players as necessary.
Thank you from the Year 3 team
Our team were thrilled to meet new families and get to know old families even better at the Welcome Evening last week. I have included some snaps from the night.
After school
Parents, please be mindful not to wait directly outside a classroom or in the immediate surrounds of a classroom. Avoid seating outside a classroom (such as the undercover area just outside 3B and 3W). This helps everyone care for learning!
Take care and have a wonderful week
Ellaine Warner
Deputy Principal- Year 3
ewarn23@eq.edu.au
Achieving Great Learning Outcomes
It has been a wonderful week in the Year 4 classrooms as we continue our focus on achieving great learning outcomes. I had the pleasure of visiting many classrooms this week and could really sense a strong learning culture.
As I have visited classrooms this week, I’ve had the opportunity to speak to students about their learning in writing. In every lesson, teachers work hard to make sure students know what they are learning, how they are going and their next steps to improve. Students in 4G and 4B were able to explain to me the focus of the lesson. Many students also used their scale folders and blue post-it notes to describe how they were going and next steps. It was also fabulous to see students in 4S using their Bump-It-Up Wall during their learning as a tool to help them improve their work and strive for four stars. Well done to these students and amazing work from all teachers in providing such clarity!
Have a wonderful week
Danielle O'Brien
Deputy Principal- Year 4
dxobr0@eq.edu.au
Care for Learning in Year 5
Thank you to all of the classes that welcomed me into their room this week. It was wonderful to see the range of pedagogies teachers and students utilised to achieve learning. Well done to 5G for their collaborative writing lesson. I loved how the students in 5G collaboratively generated and bumped up each other's writing ideas. Super job 5T for their use of the Bump-It-Up Wall to assist them to improve their writing. While in 5J I thought the students were so persuasive as they participated in a class debate to help them improve their persuasive writing. Well done Year 5!
Martin Winney
Deputy Principal –Year 5
mwinn7@eq.edu.au
Peer feedback in 6B
I had the privilege of visiting 6B this week to witness some of the great things happening in this room. I was so impressed to see the enthusiasm and work ethic from students in 6B as they worked to write engaging short stories. After some writing time, Mrs Baker encouraged students to work in pairs to read each other’s stories and provide feedback against the learning scales. I really enjoyed being a part of this process and hearing the celebrations that the students shared with one another, along with constructive feedback for their peers so that they could improve their writing. The Mango Hill values of Teamwork and Commitment were certainly on display in 6B!
Guided Maths in 6M
Across our school, teachers work incredibly hard to ensure they target the learning to students needs. This can be done in many ways and the way that Mr McGregor provides differentiated learning experiences for his students in 6M through Maths rotations. Students were engaged in a range of different activities, including Number Facts, Matific, word problems in Showbie and guided instruction with the teacher. I look forward to seeing the impact of this work in 6M as they progress along the star scales.
Future Science
Every week, a group of Year 6 students work with Mrs Koch as a part of the Future Science program. This week was a fun, “introduction to high school Science day”. The students ventured over the MHSSC to learn in their labs, being introduced to safety requirements and then learning about the Doppler Effect. Our Future Scientists absolutely loved the experience!
Student Leadership Badge Ceremony
This Friday is our student leader badge ceremony, beginning at 8.45am in Gigum Hall. At the ceremony our student leaders will receive their badges and be celebrated, as we hear about some of their ambitions as leaders in 2023. I look forward to acknowledging them all formally on Friday!
Have a super week
Ben Mills
Deputy Principal – Year 6
bxmil3@eq.edu.au
Learning to Read!
How exciting for all of our students who after settling into some new routines, have now begun to build their understandings about language and literacy.
Across the school students are learning and applying a range of reading strategies as they read a range of texts in Guided Reading groups and during independent reading activities. Reading requires us to apply a range of strategies and also to understand what we are reading. Making meaning of texts is such an important life skill so we all need plenty of practice. Even in Prep, while our youngest learners might not be able to read by themselves yet, they are learning about reading as they listen to stories and talk about their favourites parts.
You can help at home by encouraging students to read daily – habits are build bit by bit, so reading for just 5 minutes every day can lead to a lifelong habit and love of reading. Don’t forget that reading doesn’t just have to involve books… newspapers, websites, TV programs, recipes, instructions, leaflets and junk mail catalogues all require reading and are great places to apply our reading strategies.
A positive attitude to reading is one of the most important parts of becoming a reader. This can be built by reading texts that we enjoy, and also by sharing our reading with those we love to spend time with. Don’t underestimate the power of sitting closely with our mum, dad, brother, aunt or grandparent to share a book together. What a lovely way to spend an evening or afternoon!
Reading in the Hub
In the Hub we love all things reading and look forward to helping you and your child to find the perfect book. The Hub is open every morning from 8.15am and until 3pm every afternoon. We also have lunchtime clubs where students are able to borrow and/or share their love of reading with others. Don’t forget that a library bag is a great way to care for our books and helps books stay away from wet water bottles and damp lunchboxes.
Have a fantastic week
Suzette Holm, Jessica Rivett
shol0@eq.edu.au
Pine Rivers District Sporting Trials (10-12yr Old’s)
Pine Rivers District School Sport offers 10-12 Year old students the opportunity to compete at Metropolitan North trials and carnivals, with the possibility of selection into teams competing at State events. Students must be nominated by their school in order to attend a district trial or carnival.
Students who express an interest to trial can collect forms from our PE office. They will be given the Pine Rivers District forms and the relevant trial information. Completed district forms are to be returned to the PE office by the due date. Once the forms are collated, students will be nominated for the trial. Forms are then handed back to students and must then be taken to the coach/manager at the District Trials. Students will NOT be allowed to trial if district forms are not handed in completed. Unless specifically organised by the school, it is the parents’ responsibility to transport students to and from district trials.
Most Pine Rivers District trials are limited to students turning 11 or 12 years of age and who are considered at a high level in the sport e.g. Div. 1 or A Grade. Cross Country, Athletics and Swimming trials however are open for students turning 10, 11 and 12 years of age. Sports that students are able to trial for include the following.
- AFL
- Basketball
- Cricket
- Football (Soccer)
- Golf
- Hockey
- Netball
- Rugby League
- Rugby Union
- Softball
- Squash
- Tennis
- Touch
- Triathlon.
Mango Hill can normally nominate up to three students for each district sport trial. If more than three students wish to be nominated Mango Hill will select the three best candidates for the trial. The selection of these students may be either based on past performances/current club form or through a selection trial at school.
If you are interested in your child trialling for Pine Rivers District more information can be obtained from the Mango Hill State School newsletter, with regular trial updates listed. You can also contact Mr Nick Hills - nhill96@eq.edu.au (MHSS PE Teacher) so he is aware of your intention to attend the trial.
MHSS Cross Country (Year Prep-6)
All students from Years Prep to 6 will be competing in the 2023 MHSS Cross Country Race. This is completed in the morning and or middle session of school with students competing in a long-distance race with their age group peers. More information regarding the Cross Country will be available later in the term. Dates are as follows.
- Year Prep-2: Thursday Week 9 - 23 March
- Year 3-6: Friday Week 9 – 24 March
AFLQ Schools Cup Trials
Please see the information below regarding the AFLQ Schools Cup trials for students in Year 4-6.
2023 AFLQ Schools Cup Trial Information
The AFLQ Schools Cup is a statewide AFL competition amongst primary schools, with Mango Hill competing initially in the Brisbane North Regional playoffs. AFL QLD coordinates the competition with all matches played under the Laws of the game promulgated by the AFL.
In 2023, Mango Hill State School will again be entering a Primary Boys and Primary Girls team in the AFLQ Schools Cup competition. These teams are open for all students from Year 4-6. The Brisbane North Regional Playoff date will be in Term 2.
Trials
Trials for these two teams will be conducted via lunchtime AFL Clubs on Thursday week 5 and 6, at 2nd break on the MHSS Oval. There will also be an afterschool trial at 3.00pm-4.00pm on Tuesday 21 February (wk. 5). Attendance at either the AFL Club or afternoon trial will help your child gain selection in our initial training squad. A final team to attend the AFLQ Schools Cup day will be selected later in Term 1.
Students interested in trialing can add their name to the signup sheet which is located on the PE notice board in M Block (in front of PE office).
Equipment/Uniform
If selected, a Mango Hill State School AFL jersey, shorts and socks will be provided for competition days at no cost. Students will need to provide their own protective equipment (mouthguard) and will require football boots (no metal tags).
Training
If selected in the team, there is an expectation that students commit to attending AFL training, which will be held Thursday afternoon 3.00pm-4.00pm and during AFL Club lunch breaks.
Costs:
There are no initial costs associated with the competition. If teams progress further in the competition travel and playing costs may apply.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact team manager Nick Hills (nhill96@eq.edu.au).
Mr Hills & Mr Newell, Miss Richards and Mr Lisha
Physical Education Teachers
PCYC Update
This week focus at PCYC was regulating emotions. Yoga in our morning session assists the children to have a clear mind thus setting them up for their day of learning.
