Term 1 Week 2 2025
- Principal's News by Ange Padgett
- Team Mango We All Belong! -
- Prep News by Mieke Munko
- Year 1 News by Evan Barrett
- Year 2 News by Jessica Burnett
- Year 3 News by Kris Olsen
- Year 4 News by Barbara Cornford
- Year 5 News by Greg McCallum
- Year 6 News by Danielle Price
- Curriculum News
- Sporting News by The PE Department
- Community News
Students have had another excellent start to the week. They have been calm, settled and putting their best efforts into caring for their learning and others.
Welcome Afternoon
The school will be holding a Welcome Afternoon to allow parents/carers to find out about how their 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
Phones
If students are bringing phones to school they need to be turned off or on silent and signed into the office on arrival to school. Phones are not to be used until outside of school grounds.
Picking students up early
To minimise disruptions to classrooms, please avoid signing your child out early. I understand it’s tempting to get children a little early to avoid the peak traffic times, however it’s really disruptive to our students’ learning and teachers’ teaching with announcements interrupting learning time. We understand their will be some times where this is unavoidable. If you have an appointment that can’t be scheduled outside of school time, where possible please inform your teacher prior to date.
Staffing Changes
This Friday we farewell Ms Jess Rivett (HOD) as she will be commencing maternity leave. We wish Jess all the best and thank her for her contribution to Team Mango.
We will also be farewelling Ms Hannah Ratcliffe on Friday 14 February as she will also be commencing maternity leave. We wish Hannah all the best.
Ms Steph Curran has accepted the role of acting Senior Education Officer for Home Schooling. Thank you Steph for your contribution to your students. Good luck. We know you will be awesome at your new role.
Persistent absences from school can be a barrier to student learning. Children will achieve better when they go to school all day, every school day – they’ll learn better, make friends, be happier and have a bright future. Arriving at school on time is also really important. The first 30 minutes of every school day is important as teachers go through the timetable for the day, review learning and encourage students to connect with one another. Students should be at school unless unwell. If your child is unwell, please contact the school by 9am. Reaching full potential occurs when we maximise learning days. If you are experiencing problems getting your child to school please reach out to your child’s teacher or Deputy Principal to assist.
Reading requires two very important skills:
- decoding (reading) the words on the page
- making meaning from the words, sentences and paragraphs that are read.
- for children to learn how to decode words, they need to understand how sounds and letters link together. They are taught that:
- words can be broken up into sounds (the word ‘cat’ is made up of 3 sounds: c-a-t) and that sounds can be blended to form words (the sounds c-a-t blended, forms the word ‘cat’)
- the sounds in words can be represented by letters or groups of letters.
- The same sound can be represented by different letters; the words ‘play’, ‘rain’ and ‘stage’ all contain the sound /ay/ but the spelling is different in each one.
- The same letter can represent different sounds; the letter ‘c’ can represent a k sound as in ‘cat’, or an s sound as in ‘race’.
- Small parts of words can have a meaning all their own; in the word ‘walked’, the ‘-ed’ tells us that the walk has already happened — it marks past tense.
- Children practise their word reading skills by reading decodable texts that contain only the letter-sound correspondences children have been taught.
- As children develop their decoding skills and their reading becomes more automatic, they will move from reading simple decodable texts to authentic texts. Authentic texts are any texts that are read for enjoyment or learning and that support word reading, language development and engagement.
Parents play an important role in helping children learn to read by both:
- listening to your child read aloud to practise decoding words
- reading aloud to your child to build their understanding of language and literacy.
Ange Padgett
Principal
apadg6@eq.edu.au
Care Class and Focus of the Week
At Mango Hill State School we use the Four Cares language of Care for Self, Care for Others, Care for Learning and Care for Environment to show what learning looks, sounds like and feels like. Care Class is a critical part of how we support students and their care for learning at Mango Hill. During Care Class on Fridays, students will be introduced to The Focus of the Week- linked to the four cares, and given opportunities to engage in activities that model the Cares. The Focus of week is displayed within classrooms, around the school and will be included in the weekly school newsletter. Be sure also to check out the noticeboard display outside the Admin Block.
The Focus for the first two weeks of Term 1 is Care for the Environment- Whole School Expectations. When we care for the Environment, we are able to use our spaces in the correct way. This includes being in the right place at the right time. Does your child know what is the right place to be before, during and after school?
CASUAL CLEANERS
We are looking for more casual cleaners to join our dedicated team of cleaners in 2025. Shifts will be from 4.00 -7.00am or 8.00am and 2.00-6.00pm. You will require a Blue Card, and be willing to complete a criminal history check. This is a casual position, so the number of hours will vary from week to week.
If this interests you, please email Andrea Gleeson aglee39@eq.edu.au for more details.
Welcome back! It was so lovely to see all the new and returning faces in January. As we resume school the uniform shop settles into its normal operating hours. We are open:
Mon 8am-10:30am
Wed 1:30pm-4pm
Thu 1:30pm-4pm
Fri 8am-10:30am
Take the guess work out of it! If you are needing uniform pieces it's a good idea to bring your student with you when purchasing to ensure you get the right size fit the first time. If you are unsure if a piece is too big or too small, we can talk with you in store about your needs, are you wanting your uniform to fit "just right" for now, or are you wanting something a little larger for them to grow into over the year? You can try on our uniforms and see what is the best fit for your needs.
We also have a retail store located at 41 Kirby Road, Aspley. They operate regular retail hours and can be reached on 3263-5566.
We offer online orders. Orders can be placed through our website any time at www.wearitto.com.au/schools/mango-hill-state-school
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Mango Hill State School - Schools - Wearitto Wearitto delivers high quality uniforms in a way that makes things easy for schools and parents. We create clothing for school, work and play. |
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.
If you need to leave a message on our phone service, please leave your name and number so we can call you back. We are unable to see the number you call from, so can only return calls where a phone number has been left.
Have a great term!
Zoe
Uniform Shop Convenor
Routines
Thank you to all our Prep families for helping to establish our morning routines this week. By waiting behind the blue lines, encouraging independence to unpack belongings and being on time to class, our Prep friends are settling in well and are starting the day ready to learn. Each day, classes have their morning meetings when they greet and check in with each other, build relationships and prepare for the day ahead. This time is precious and it helps our learners to feel calm, connect with their teacher and friends and prepare for the learning ahead. Thank you for arriving on time to ensure your child is a part of this important time of the day.
Since starting school last week, we have been learning about the Four Cares, Care for Self, Care for Others, Care for Learning and Care for the Environment. We have been focusing on Care for the Environment and practising this by putting our rubbish in the bin and packing our toys away ready for next time. Here are some photos from Prep A showing Care for Environment in action, great job Prep A!
Mieke Munko
Deputy Principal-Prep
mmunk1@eq.edu.au
Year 1’s have jumped into learning!
The Year 1 cohort have returned to learning with gusto and perseverance! It has been a joy seeing student’s make connections to their prior learning and take on new challenges. All Year 1 classes began some phonics lessons last week as well as collecting phonics data to best support their students where they are at.
What is phonics?
Phonics is one skill in the ‘Big Six’ and is key to learning to read and spell. It involves matching sounds to letters or groups of letters.
A phonics-based approach has been proven time and time again to be the most effective way to learn to read!
Phonics in action…
Student’s have also enjoyed the text ‘The Imagineer’ by Christopher Cheng and Lucia Masciullo and unpacked what the word imagination means.
1F represented their own imaginations. Check out how creative some of our Year 1 friends are at thinking ‘outside of the box’
Have a lovely week everyone!
Evan Barrett
Deputy Principal –Year 1
ebmcf0@eq.edu.au
A wonderful start for Year 2!
Wow! Our Year 2 students have got off to a fabulous start this year and are settling into our school and class routines exceptionally well. This week we are focused on reinforcing our school expectations to ensure everyone is set up for a successful year. This would be a great time to talk to your child about our Four Cares and Five Values to help reinforce their understanding of these.
To ensure we are set up for success, it is also timely to remind everyone that attendance matters. We are striving for 100% attendance every day in Year 2. If your child is unwell or needs to attend an appointment, please notify the office by emailing studentabsence@mangohill.eq.edu.au or phoning 07 3482 8166. It is important that all absences are explained.
This week you should receive communication about our upcoming swimming lessons. Please ensure you read this information and complete the permission form as soon as possible if you would like your child to participate.
The Big Purpose
In Week 2, students will begin unpacking the big purpose of their units of work. In our English Speaking and Listening Unit, our big purpose is to share ideas and express an opinion about a familiar character and their traits. You can support our English work at home by reading picture books and fairy tales with your child and discussing the characters.
I wish you a wonderful week.
Jessica Burnett
Deputy Principal- Year 2
jburn289@eq.edu.au
Morning Meetings
What an exciting and positive beginning we've had! In just seven short days, our Year 3 students have already started forming strong connections with their peers and teachers. It’s truly inspiring to see how quickly they’ve embraced our classroom routines and culture.
One of the highlights to start the day is our morning meetings. This much-loved part of the day uses research-based practices to provide students with an opportunity to build meaningful relationships, share their thoughts and unpack classroom values and expectations, and set a positive tone for the day ahead. The sense of community is palpable as students exchange cheerful greetings and share special announcements.
Hitting the ground running with data
This term, our Year 3 students have dived into the fascinating world of statistics. They are learning how to conduct investigations and create, interpret, and compare various data displays. It's been fantastic to see their enthusiasm as they explore using tables and tally marks to record and organize information.
You can support this learning at home by engaging in simple data collection activities. Why not survey your family about their favorite desserts, games to play, or football teams? Creating tables to record and analyse these results is a fun way to reinforce classroom concepts and build practical maths skills.
We look forward to sharing more about our curriculum and classroom learning at the Welcome Afternoon on Wednesday, 19th February. Hope to see you there!
Deputy Principal
I wanted to acknowledge what a great start Year 4 had to the year last week. Thank you parents and carers for the work you did to prepare your child for school not only with bringing the right equipment, but also emotionally ready to meet new people and accept new routines.
Thank you to the teachers and teacher aides for working together as a Year 4 team; for being intentional in starting the year strong and teaching whole school and class expectations and routines.
Students, I want to say I was extremely impressed with the respectful way you demonstrated our 4 Cares: Care for Self, Care for Others, Care for Learning, Care for the Environment.
Following are some celebrations of Year 4 demonstrating and working through our Whole School expectations as follows.
Curriculum
English - Teachers have begun teaching the big purpose of our Speaking and Listening unit which is: To share and extend ideas, opinions and information about a short film for an audience. They are teaching the ‘Look fors’ when presenting these ideas to an audience.
Maths - The first unit of work for Year 4 is about learning how to create and interpret grid references using directional language.
Barbara Cornford
Deputy Principal –Year 4
bcorn3@eq.edu.au
Educational Achievement
Teachers have been working hard at getting to know their students as learners. This has included working with the Year 4 teachers from last year to help identify strengths and areas for improvement. As a partner in your child’s education, please contact the class teacher if you have insights that you would like to share.
Wellbeing / Attendance
Thank you for such a positive start to the year in regards to attendance. Unless your child is ill, it is important they attend school every day.
Research shows that in Queensland, higher student attendance is associated with higher student achievement. Additionally, attending school every day helps children to build social and emotional skills such as communication, teamwork and resilience.
If you are experiencing difficulties getting your child to school, please contact the office so we can put in the appropriate supports to assist.
Greg McCallum
Deputy Principal- Year 5
gmcca24@eq.edu.au
Introducing our Student Captains for 2025
This week you may have started to see some of our 2025 Student Captains out and about of a morning, greeting families with big smiles and raising our flags at the front of the school. We have a total of 32 Student Captains including School and Vice Captains, as well as Sports, Technology, Sustainability, Diversity, Reconciliation and Performing Arts Captains.
On Friday 14 February, we will hold our student leader badge ceremony for our Student Captains in Year 6 and Student Councillors in Years 4 and 5. The ceremony will be held from 9am in Gigum Hall. Email invitations will be sent to families of leaders by the end of the week.
Further to our Student Captains, we also have a number of Mango Mentors across Year 6. Our Mango Mentors will be presented with their badges in their classes over the coming weeks. Mango Mentors play an important role every year in serving the Team Mango community.
During their time at our school, Our Student Captains and Mango Mentors have consistently demonstrated the Mango Hill Values and Cares. They are excellent role models for the Team Mango community and are already showing great leadership.
Year 6 Learning
It has been great to see our Year 6 students tackling new learning in Maths. They have been using integers to locate points on Cartesian planes. They have also been recognising positive and negative numbers and using their understanding to locate these numbers on number lines. Check out some photos below!
Danielle Price
Deputy Principal- Year 6
dxobr0@eq.edu.au
Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN
This term our Year 3 and Year 5 students will participate in NAPLAN Online.
Online NAPLAN tests provide more precise results and are engaging for students. The tests are tailored (or adaptive), which means that each test presents questions that may be more or less difficult depending on a student’s responses. This helps students remain engaged with the assessment.
Tailored testing allows a wider range of student abilities to be assessed and measures student achievement more precisely. A student’s overall NAPLAN result is based on both the number and complexity of questions they answer correctly. Your child should not be concerned if they find questions challenging; they may be taking a more complex test pathway.
All Year 3 students will continue to complete the writing assessment on paper this year.
What does NAPLAN assess?
NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through their regular school curriculum.
Students sit assessments in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The questions assess content linked to the Australian Curriculum: English and Mathematics.
Adjustments
Adjustments are available for students with disability who have diverse functional abilities and needs.
We will work with parents/carers and students to identify, on a case-by-case basis, reasonable adjustments required for individual students with disability to access NAPLAN. Adjustments should reflect the support normally provided for classroom assessments.
In exceptional circumstances, a student with a disability that severely limits their capacity to participate in the assessment, or a student who has recently arrived in Australia and has a non-English speaking background, may be granted a formal exemption.
Locked Down Browser
All students taking part in NAPLAN Online tests must install a locked down browser app suitable for their device. This also applies when schools have a ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) policy. Android devices are not supported. Students with appropriate disability adjustment codes (DACs) do not require a locked down browser.
What is a locked down browser?
A locked down browser is a secure test player in which students take NAPLAN online tests. It is designed to prevent access to all other applications, tools such as spellcheck, web pages or software while the student is taking the test.
Locked down browsers can accommodate disability adjustments and make use of assistive technology for students if required.
The locked down browser application does not contain test content. Test content is only available to the student within the locked down browser while they are in a test session invigilated by a Test Administrator.
Getting Your Child’s Device Ready for NAPLAN
At Mango Hill State School, we use Company Portal to access and manage apps.
Through Company Portal, download the NAP lockdown browser. Check that the NAP lockdown browser is updated and working correctly. If your child is not set up with Company Portal and you need assistance in setting up your child’s device, please book in to see Mark Laurie in his office, located next to the HUB.
It is within this browser that students can practice the conventions of the test. At school, teachers will work with students to prepare them for the digital readiness of the test.
If you have any concerns about your child’s participation in NAPLAN, please make contact with your child’s class teacher or contact our HOD Marissa Krosman mkros4@eq.edu.au.
Important Dates
NAPLAN Parent information sessions are as follows.
- Friday 21 February at 8:30am in the Wandani
- Friday 28 February at 8:30am in the Wandani
- NAPLAN practice for Years 3 & 5
- Wednesday 5 March
- NAPLAN Testing window for Years 3 & 5
- Wednesday 12 March – Monday 24 March (Our school testing Schedule will be sent out prior to NAPLAN testing windows)
Borrowing from the Hub
It was great to see our students back in the Hub and borrowing books this week!
In order to ‘care for the environment’ and our precious library books, it would be great if all students had a special library bag when borrowing. This can be a Mango Hill library bag purchased from the uniform shop or any kind of plastic or material bag. We don’t mind what the library bag looks like, but we know it will be super important to protect our books from the other things (including lunch boxes and water bottles) in our school bags.
We look forward to seeing everyone soon!
Hub opening hours
The Hub is open every morning from 8.15am and until 3pm every afternoon. All students are welcome to visit before or after school to choose and borrow a book.
Have a fantastic week
Rachael Beard, Jessica Rivett & Marissa Krosman - HODs
Physical Education News
Pine Rivers District Sporting Trials (10-12yr Old’s)
Pine Rivers District School Sport (PRDSS) 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.
Most PRD 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) and have several years’ experience. Cross Country, Athletics and Swimming trials however are open for students turning 10, 11 and 12 years of age and nominations are based on results from our MHSS school carnivals. PRD trials are not for students who are learning to play or are inexperienced. Sports that students are able to trial for include;
- AFL
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Cricket
- Football (Soccer)
- Golf
- Hockey
- Netball
- Rugby League
- Rugby Union
- Softball
- Squash
- Tennis
- Touch
- Triathlon
2025 District Trial Nomination Process
- Step 1 - Trial Information will be placed in the MHSS newsletter. Parents can email Mr Nick Hills (nhill96@eq.edu.au) to express interest in their son/daughter attending.
- Step 2 – If necessary, MHSS will host a MHSS trial to select appropriate students for the district trials (normally completed if more than 5 students want to attend).
- Step 3 – Schools distribute the Trial Nomination and Information Form (with A QR Scan code) to their selected students. Families/students complete the scan code to nominate for a trial before the closing date – no students will be able to access this nomination Scan code after the closing date.
- Step 4 – Pine Rivers District School Sport collates scan code information and emails parents/students with the District Trial Notice & Trial Package.
Mango Hill can normally nominate up to five students for each district sport trial (more popular sports the limit may be 3). If more than five students wish to be nominated Mango Hill will select the five 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 (Prep - Year 6)
All students from Prep to Year 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 as follows.
- Prep - Year 2: Friday Week 9 – 28 March
- Years 3 - 6: Monday Week 10 – 31 March
Sporting Lunch Clubs (Years 4-6)
At MHSS we provide opportunities for students to participate in lunch time clubs, which includes clubs directly related to sporting teams. The following clubs are offered in Term 1 with all students in Years 4-6 able to attend.
Mr Hills, Mr Newell, Mr Lisha and Miss Wilson
Physical Education Teachers
The North Lakes Kangaroos Rugby League Club is seeking players for their Under 6 through to Under 12 Teams for season 2025. Located at the Griffin Sports Complex at Henry Road Griffin, the Club is looking for boys and girls to join and play rugby league. Under 6 and 7 are non-contact competitions with contact commencing in Under 8s. Games are played on a Sunday morning with some special Gala Days being held on a Saturday throughout the season. Come down and enjoy the benefits of a supportive team environment at arguably the most modern junior rugby league facility. Sign On days are Sat 8 Feb from 9.00am to Noon and Sun 16 Feb at the same time slot. If interested, please contact us via email at secretary@northlakeskangaroos.com.au or register at playnrl.com.au If needed you will find detailed instructions on how to register at our website northlakeskangaroos.com.au
