Term 4 Week 9 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week Team Mango has been involved in many exciting, fun events.  On Monday we inducted our new 2024 staff to our school. It was lovely to meet our new team members. They were all excited about becoming a member of Team Mango. I look forward to sharing our staffing with you in next week’s newsletter.

Week 9 saw us celebrating many events. On Monday we held our End of Year Concert, where our Prep and Year 6 students entertained us.

The night was filled with singing and dancing. Rain did not stop us from enjoying a night of Carols on Tuesday. Thank you to our community for supporting this event, despite the inclement weather.

Today we held the Art's Parade, highlighting the talent of many students across the school. We extend our thank you to our families as these events are not possible without your support. A big thank you also to our hard-working students. Lastly, I’d like to thank Ms Glenda Kostoglou, Mrs Morrell, Mrs Almond, Miss Sheehan, Mrs Nicolopoulos, Mr James and Mrs Bodgan for bringing all these events to life. Thank you also to our hard-working deputy principals, business manager and executive officer for organising these events. Lastly a big thank you to our staff for their support during these events.

Congratulations to all of the shortlisted Year 5 students who presented to the Year 4 and 5 cohorts their 2024 Student Leader speeches. Students were asked to give a short speech on what makes a good leader and why they should be given a  student leader position in 2024. We are so proud of every student who got up on stage to present. All of the students spoke confidently and delivered very entertaining speeches. 2024 Student Leader positions will be announced at the Year 5 end of year Awards Ceremony next Wednesday. 

On Thursday and Friday our swimming carnivals will be held. I understand not all students are competitive swimmers but encourage those who are not competitive swimmers to participate for the fun of the activity rather than miss the event. There will be plenty of novelty events for those who are not competitive swimmers.  

Award ceremonies will be held in Week 10 (formal uniform to be worn). At these assemblies some students will be acknowledged with special awards. As a mum, I always focus on the effort levels in my children’s report cards to see if they have tried their best. As a family, it’s also a great opportunity to set some goals for the upcoming semester.

The school will be emailing student reports on Wednesday 6 December. On this same day, parents and carers will also receive an important email about 2024 class placements and other vital information. If we don’t have your latest email address, you won’t receive this. If you have changed your email address and haven’t informed the school office, please do so as soon as possible.

The school has worked tirelessly on formulating classes for 2024.  We thank you for your anticipated support and respect of the school’s position on class placement. Where possible, we have aimed to fulfill as many parent considerations as possible but please note, it’s not always possible and it may not always be in the best interest of the student/class.  Mango Hill State School teachers and leaders have valuable expertise in creating highly productive student learning groupings and environments. Many aspects are taken into consideration, including learning styles and preferences, academic ability, friendships, behaviour and special needs. The teachers and leadership team have worked hard to ensure that your child is placed in the learning environment that is best for them. Staffing in state schools is not finalised until the eighth day of school – 1 February and while every effort has been made in the organisation of classes for 2024, there is always a possibility that we may experience change and your child may be affected by this change.

We have the following events to celebrate the last week of the 2023 school year. These include:

We are looking forward to celebrating these end of year events alongside our students and their families. We do again, remind everyone, that finding a park will take time and patience. Please continue to be mindful of our neighbours when parking

Learning in Year 3

For our teachers and students, it is business as usual this week.  Yes, we have lots of special events this week and next but we are grounding ourselves by continuing to focus on teaching and learning and by holding the same expectations for our students as always. I am always proud of our wonderful Year 3 students, but I must say I am exceptionally proud of Year 3 student achievement in Semester 2. I know there will be lots of excited students next week when they see their academic statements. Congratulations on the reward for effort, Year 3 friends.

Transition to Year 4

Have you heard of the ladder of inference? Briefly, it’s when we have some observable data (example, my friend didn’t seem to pay me a lot of attention today), select some of it to attend to (wait, I think my friend spoke a lot with the new student), and then tell ourselves a story about it (my friend is disloyal and doesn’t like me anymore) … thus going up the ladder of inference without having all the facts.  If you notice your child climbing the ladder of inference (e.g. it’s going to be so hard in Year 4 and I won’t have a friend) ask questions “What makes you say or think that?” This might help your child understand that they don’t have all the information and might be telling themselves a story.  Encourage your child to ask their teacher any questions they have about Year 4, so that your child can be reassured. Ms Tanner and the Year 3 teachers have a very big focus right now on successful transitions for students from Year 3 to Year 4.  Over the next two weeks, we hope to answer all the questions for your child.

Special Events

Keep reading the newsletter, Term 4 overview and following posts on our school FB page to stay up to date.  We hope to see you at as many events as possible for you and your family.

My Thanks to You

You may have read Ms Padgett’s newsletter update that 2023 will be my last year at our school.  I have accepted a Director role in Regional Office which will commence in 2024.  I have loved my 10 years at our school.  Over the last two years, it’s been my absolute pleasure to be the deputy principal for this beautiful cohort – your children. It’s been an enormous privilege working with your lovely children each day and I have also had the pleasure of getting to know many parents.  Thank you to everyone who has reached out to say their goodbyes. You all have my very best wishes for the future!

Take care and have a wonderful week
Ellaine Warner 
Deputy Principal-Year 3
ewarn23@eq.edu.au

Deputy Principal – Year 5
ewils209@eq.edu.au

Count Down is On

Wow! Less than two weeks of primary school left for our Year 6 students. We have lots of celebrations coming up to recognise their time at primary school and their role in Team Mango. I’m sure it will be a special and memorable last week for Year 6 and their families!

What’s coming up?

• Swimming Carnival on Friday 1 December
• Year 6 Awards Ceremony 9.45am at Gigum Hall
• Year 6 Graduation, arrival from 5pm at Gigum Hall
• Whole School Farewell parade 8.45am at Gigum Hall
• Year 6 Walkout 2pm ending in the Piazza

Maintaining high expectations until the end!

While it is an exciting time for our Year 6 students, we will be giving regular reminders of the importance of maintaining a high standard of behaviour and uniform compliance until the end. We ask all parents to reinforce this message. Our Year 6 students are role models to the rest of our school community!

Farewell messages and signatures

At the conclusion of their time at primary school, students enjoy getting farewell messages and signatures, often across their uniform. We ask that students refrain from doing this until Party Day on Thursday 7 December.  Students are not permitted to wear signed uniforms. On Party Day, students may bring in a spare uniform to be signed if they wish. As an alternative to their uniform, they may like to have their Yearbook signed (provided on Graduation night) or a special item (soft toy or ball) signed with messages.

Finally, we are always after uniform donations for students and families in need. If your child’s uniform is in good condition and no longer needed within your family, we would happily take these as donations for 2024! Please drop off at the office.

Have a great week 
Ben Mills
Deputy Principal –Year 6
bxmil3@eq.edu.au