Term 1 Week 1 2025
Welcome back to what is going to be a fabulous year of learning, fun and friendship building. A special welcome to our Prep students and their families as well as our new Mango Hill families. Students are looking smart, wearing their full school uniform with pride. Thank you to parents/carers for ensuring your child is kitted out in the correct uniform, including full black shoes. If you haven’t had the chance to, please name all items permanently, including uniform, lunch box, hat and drink bottle.
Thank you also for ensuring your child has the necessary equipment and stationery to partake in class. Please contact your child’s class teacher if your child is waiting on any item. If you are experiencing financial difficulties and want to discuss options for support please email Petrina on polla2@eq.edu.au
Term One Overview
Please find below the link to the Term One Overview. These dates are subject to change so please keep up-to-date by reading the school’s weekly newsletters.
Communication
At Mango Hill State School, we value effective methods of communication. Each week on a Wednesday we publish our whole school newsletter. This will be sent directly to your nominated email address. We encourage you to take the time to read through the newsletter each week. Our weekly newsletter is a hub where you can find lots of information on everything that is happening in and around the school. Another great way to stay in touch with the school is by joining our official school Facebook page (please see picture of landing page below). On the school’s Facebook page, we will post important reminders, event information, updates, weekly videos from staff and best of all, some snippets of the children “Growing, Learning and Achieving”. Please note that any posts made by the school on the school’s official Facebook page are not to be snipped or screen shot and re-posted on any other community Facebook pages. The school’s page is the official page, all other Facebook pages have no affiliation with the school. We appreciate your understanding and support with this matter. If you have any concerns at any time about our school, Facebook is NOT the place to post this. We want this page to remain positive. Negative posts will be removed. Should you need to inform us of any concerns we encourage you to please contact the school to discuss these.
Concerns/Issues
Should you have concerns or any issues relating to your child, please initially talk to your child’s class teacher. Should your concerns continue, please make an appointment to meet with your child’s Deputy Principal. If your concerns are still not alleviated, then it would be appropriate to make an appointment to talk to me (Principal). It’s important teachers are given the opportunity to address any issues prior to members of the leadership team being involved unless the matter is one of urgency.
Welcome Afternoon
The school will be holding a Welcome Afternoon to allow parents/carers to find out about how your child’s class runs. We hope to see you there! These sessions will be held over two weeks.
12 February 2025 (for Prep, Year 2, Year 4, Year 6 families). Session 1 will commence from 3.30 – 4.00pm, session 2 from 4.00 – 4.30pm. Each session is repeated and will cover the same content.
19 February 2025 (for Year 1, Year 3, Year 5 families). Session 1 will commence from 3.30 – 4.00pm, session 2 from 4.00 – 4.30pm. Each session is repeated and will cover the same content.
- Sausage sizzle - $3.50
- Vegetarian Sausage Sizzle - $3.50
- Cans of Drink - $3.00
- Water - $2.00
SOLE Sticker Chart
Congratulations to Viraaj who created the winning front cover design for our SOLE Sticker Chart. I think you would all agree he did an incredible job at capturing the essence of the 4 Cares.
The purpose of the SOLE Sticker Chart is to acknowledge the wonderful efforts students do in enacting the Mango Hill State School 4 Cares. All students will receive an individual sticker chart (kept in the classrooms for safe keeping) and progress at varying rates throughout the year.
Students use this book to work towards becoming a SOLE Ambassador and Care Champion by demonstrating our Four Cares. As a Care Champion, students represent one of our core values and inspire others to the same.
To becomes a Care Champion, students collect stickers for each specific Care Focus. Stickers can be earned in several ways:
- They may be awarded through the year level Golden Ticket box
- By classroom teachers
- During Care Class Learning Walk and Talks
- By the Principal and Deputy Principals when students are seen demonstrating one of the Four Cares.
Once a student has collected all the stickers for a particular Care Focus, they will become a Care Champion and receive a care badge, which can be proudly displayed on their school uniform. Students who achieve Care Champion status for all the Four Cares will earn a distinguished SOLE Ambassador title.
When visiting the classroom throughout the year please check in on your child’s progress on their SOLE Sticker Chart!
Ange Padgett
Principal
apadg6@eq.edu.au
Welcome to Prep at Mango Hill!
Thank you for all your time and hard work in making sure your child was ready with all their belongings for their first day yesterday. Our Prep learners did a wonderful job of making connections with their teachers, teacher aides and new friends and this will continue to be the focus over the next few weeks.
Last week our teachers worked hard on planning for Term 1. This year for the first time, we offer Prep learners a gross motor program with Miss Wilson to complement the Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum. Gross motor skills involve the large muscle groups of the arms, legs and trunk, and develop before fine motor skills which are typically the small muscles in the fingers and hands. You can support your child's gross motor development by engaging in activities such as going to the park, playing ball games (kicking, throwing and catching) and moving in different ways such as running, hopping and skipping. The great thing about supporting gross motor development is that it involves lots of fun activities, enjoy!
Mieke Munko
Deputy Principal-Prep
mmunk1@eq.edu.au
Welcome to Year 1
Welcome back to our existing families and a warm welcome to all of the new families starting Year 1 at Mango!
It has been lovely meeting you and your children this week. Please come up and introduce yourself if you see me out in the mornings or if you need assistance.
I have loved hearing from the students about their holidays but equally love hearing their enthusiasm for being back at school. Year 1's have a gusto for learning that is unmatched.
You should have received the first class newsletter from your child’s class teacher which outlines all of the happenings for the term. Reading correspondence from the teachers as well as the weekly school newsletters will ensure you are abreast of what is occurring at Mango.
A friendly reminder that between 8:00 and 8:15 AM, all parents and children should wait in the Junior Undercover Area with their parent or guardian. The playgrounds are strictly out of bounds during this time.
Happy Week 1!
I look forward to connecting and working with you throughout the year.
Evan Barrett
Deputy Principal –Year 1
ebmcf0@eq.edu.au
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the Deputy Principal for Year 2. I am passionate about ensuring that all students can access learning and achieve success. Outside of work I love travelling with my family and exploring new places around Australia.
This week we are getting to know each other and learning our new classroom routines. We are revisiting our Four Cares and working together to understand our school expectations.
In English this term, students will explore imaginative texts and learn about how characters and settings are used by authors. In Maths this term, students will explore numbers to 1000. Look out for your class newsletters to learn more about what your child is learning in class.
A few reminders to help your child settle into the before school routines:
- Students should arrive between 8:00am and 8:15am and make their way to the Junior Undercover Area or Piazza with their guardian.
- Students should be seated in the Junior Undercover Area or Piazza with their guardian until 8:15am.
- When the 8:15am bell rings, students are to make their way to the classroom.
- Ball games are not permitted in the Junior Undercover Area before school.
A few reminders to help your child settle into the after-school routines:
- Please ensure you have communicated with your child and their classroom teacher about how they will be getting home each day so we can help your child move to where they need to be.
- Children will walk themselves to the Lookout Zone at the front of the school at 2:30pm. This is a great way to pick up your child easily.
- Parents/carers wanting to collect children from in the school should wait away from the classrooms. The Junior Undercover Area is a great place to wait.
- Children waiting for sibling pick up will be supervised in the Piazza until 3:00pm. Children attending Sibling Pick Up should be seated on the concrete under the shade structure opposite the uniform shop.
- Helping Hands will meet the Year 2 children in the Junior Undercover Area.
I look forward to getting to know all of our Year 2 students and their families as the year progresses.
Jessica Burnett
Deputy Principal- Year 2
jburn289@eq.edu.au
Sizzling start to the 2025 school year
What an incredible start we’ve had to the school year! To our new families and those I’ve yet to meet, welcome! My name is Kris Olsen, and I am thrilled to be working alongside you and your children as the Deputy Principal for Year 3 this year.
A little about me—outside of work, I’m passionate about all things sports, love spending quality time with my young family, and enjoy exploring new destinations around the world.
I want to take a moment to thank everyone for contributing to such a successful and smooth first week. It’s been wonderful seeing the enthusiasm from both students and parents as we settle into our routines. Just a friendly reminder: in Year 3, students should wait for the 8:30am bell before heading to their classrooms.
I look forward to catching up with you in the Piazza or at the front gate before and after school. Please don’t hesitate to say hello! Here’s to an exciting and rewarding year ahead.
Have a fantastic week!
It was great to see so many smiling faces on Day 1.
Equally impressive was the wonderful start for classes. As I walked through classes it was great to see students settling in to their new surrounds, engaging politely with both peers and teachers.
The Year 4 teachers and I are excited about working together as a team and have spent the Pupil Free Days last week getting to know one another as well as preparing for the school year. We worked through curriculum, school expectations as well as other organisational topics so that we can be consistent in our messaging and approaches across the year level.
If you have had a child in Year 4 in previous years, you will note that the topics in Maths and English will be different from those in years before as this year we are working with Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum in these subject areas.
Term Newsletter
Teachers will have already sent this through to you at the start of the week. It outlines our curriculum units and a range of organisational information. In response to ePAL questions - If you are looking to know what Apps to download onto your child’s ipad, please follow the link provided at the bottom of the ePAL section in the term newsletter.
Class Newsletter: An update of class information will be sent fortnightly.
Parent Meet and Greet Afternoon: This is a great opportunity to meet your child’s class teacher and hear organisational information for the Year Level and the class.
This will be held in Week 3 - Year 4: Wednesday 12 February – session 1 3.30 – 4.00pm; session 2 4.00 - 4.30pm
Barbara Cornford
Deputy Principal –Year 4
bcorn3@eq.edu.au
Welcome back to all the Year 5 families for the beginning of an exciting year ahead.
For those that don’t know me I would like to introduce myself as the Deputy Principal for Year 5 in 2025. I am passionate about understanding our students and identifying the best ways to support their growth and success. I firmly believe in the power of strong partnerships between home and school to ensure every child thrives.
Our school values are at the heart of everything we do
- Care for Self
- Care for Others
- Care for Learning
- Care for the Environment
These values will guide our approach to learning, relationships, and community throughout the year.
This Term’s Learning Focus
In English, Year 5 students will continue to develop their skills with ‘demand writing’, reading and responding to text as well as creating and presenting their opinions in the form of a podcast.
In Mathematics, we will use place value to represent and order decimals and fractions. Students will perform and describe transformations of shapes, identify symmetries and use grid coordinates. They will also plan and conduct statistical investigations to collect, represent and interpret data.
Reminders for Families
As we settle into the term, I kindly ask for your support in reinforcing some of our key school expectations. Please ensure your child is wearing the correct uniform, following our before and after school routines, and coming to school ready to learn.
I look forward to getting to know each of the Year 5 students and their families as we embark on this exciting journey together.
Greg McCallum
Deputy Principal- Year 5
gmcca24@eq.edu.au
Welcome back to school!
We've had a great start to 2025 welcoming our Year 6 students for their final year at MHSS. Our classes have spent time getting to know each other and developing classroom structures and routines to set them up for success for the coming year. After being the Deputy Principal for this cohort of students in 2023, I am excited to once again be closely involved in their learning journey.
As we start the new school year, we will be reinforcing key messages with students, such as uniform expectations, before and after school waiting areas and playtime areas. A reminder to all families that students may wait in the Piazza or on the Senior Astro-turf Area (underneath the Year 5 and 6 block) before school. They can also play on the Oval or Multipurpose Court. Each day, students should have plain back shoes and plain white socks to go with their Mango Hill State School uniform. Our students have made a great start at meeting these expectations.
Many of our Year 6 students also carry a phone with them to and from school. If students are bringing their phone to school, they must turn it off and sign it in at the office before school and collect it again after school. Phones may only be used once outside of the school grounds. If your child is bringing a phone to school with them, please reinforce this message with them.
It has been great to see students building connections within their classrooms and I have been thrilled to see so many happy faces and engaged learners as I’ve made my way around classrooms during the week. Year 6 is a wonderful year where our students will make many great memories. I look forward to being a part of the journey with them and you in 2025!
Danielle Price
Deputy Principal- Year 6
dxobr0@eq.edu.au
Term 1 Learning
Welcome to the start of an exciting new year! This term, we are thrilled to commence our brand-new Australian Curriculum Version 9 units in English and Mathematics. These units bring fresh opportunities for students to engage in meaningful, high-quality learning experiences.
Beyond English and Maths, students will engage in a wide range of learning areas including Science, Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS), Visual Arts, and our specialist subjects, including Health and Physical Education, Music, Performing Arts, Italian, and STEM. Please view the attached curriculum overview to see which subjects each year level will be undertaking in Term 1.
We’re looking forward to seeing our students grow and thrive as they dive into their new learning journeys this term!
Borrowing from the Hub
We can’t wait to see our library books fly off the shelf and into our students’ hands! Borrowing will start in Week 2. Your child’s teacher will communicate their class borrowing day with you. We hope our library books can be read and enjoyed for many years to come, so we ask that you please ensure your child has a library bag to keep their books nice and safe as they travel between home and school. Library bags can be purchased from the uniform shop, or you are welcome to source your own.
The Hub is open every morning from 8.15am and until 3pm every afternoon. From Week 2, all students are welcome to visit before or after school to borrow a book.
Have a fantastic week
Rachael Beard, Jessica Rivett & Mariss Krosman - HODs
Physical Education News
Hello to those families returning for 2025 and welcome to those who are joining the Mango Hill school community. Mr Tyson Newell, Mr Callum Lisha and Mr Nick Hills are back teaching PE and are very much looking forward to getting back to business in Term 1. With Mrs Fuller on maternity leave in 2025, we are thrilled to welcome Miss Bec Wilson to the PE teaching team at MHSS.
We have many events in Term 1 for students so we wanted you to be aware of everything that will be occurring. Attached is the Term 1 MHSS PE Calendar. It has all the important dates for all MHSS events, as well as Pine Rivers and Metropolitan North Representative Events. If you have any questions regarding these events, please do not hesitate to contact any of the PE team via phone/email or you are welcome to pop into our office, which is located on the first floor of M Block (closest building to the oval). There will be lots of information in our newsletter in the coming weeks regarding representative school sport opportunities.
MHSS Cross Country (Prep - Year 6)
All students from Years Prep to 6 will be competing in the 2025 MHSS Cross Country Race. This is completed in the morning 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:
- Prep - Year 2: Friday Week 9 – 28 March
- Year 3 - 6: Monday Week 10 – 31 March
Mr Hills, Mr Newell, Mr Lisha and Miss Wilson
Physical Education Teachers
