Term 1 Week 7 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
As a result of the weather, understandably some school events were cancelled. We will do our best to reschedule events such as swimming and notify parents of new dates once these are arranged.
NAPLAN
NAPLAN has been rescheduled at Mango Hill State School
NAPLAN commences this week. Due to the impact that Tropical Cyclone Alfred has had on these preparations, our students will be commencing NAPLAN on Friday 14 March 2025. The remaining tests (Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy, in that order) will take place over the days that follow. Please see the attached schedule.
Your child’s welfare is the most important thing.
You and your child have experienced the stress and difficulty of preparing for and responding to a natural disaster. As things return to normal, your child may feel more nervous than usual about NAPLAN testing following quickly behind. We are doing everything we can to reassure students that NAPLAN is a normal part of school, and that participating and just trying their best are the most important things. We appreciate your help in reinforcing these messages at home. We hope this will reduce the nerves your child might be feeling.
If you have any questions about NAPLAN or the new test schedule, please email Marissa Krosman at mkros4@eq.edu.au .
Parent Teacher Interviews
The Parent Teacher Interview (PTI) booking system will open today. An email went out this morning. Please refer to it for further information.
I encourage parents/carers to book a time with their child’s class teacher. The meetings provide an update on what students are learning, how they are going, how they can improve and what supports at home may assist. They also provide parents/carers with an update on how students are progressing socially, emotionally and with their behaviour and effort. These meetings can occur via teams, phone or face to face. PTIs are a great way for students to see the partnership between the school and home.
Interview slots can be booked via https://eq.sobs.com.au/pt3/parent.php?schoolid=70371
Bookings are currently open and will be up until Friday 21 March 2024, 9.00 am.
Boom Gate
Just a friendly reminder that our boom gate will be in action from Monday 17 March. It will be closed during the following times. 8.00 am - 9.00 am and 2.00 pm - 3.30pm each day.
School Photos Timetable
Our annual School Photos will be held on Wednesday 26, Thursday 27, Friday 28 March. All students must wear their formal uniform. Please see below for your child's allocated day. Please look out for your photo envelopes which will be sent home this week.
We are looking for parent volunteers to help out on photo day, if you can help for an hour or two please contact Petrina, polla2@eq.edu.au. You must have completed your volunteer induction prior to helping out.
Mango Hill State School Coffee Cups
Date claimers
For this week (refer to the term overview for exact dates, times and locations on our website)
Week 7 and Week 8
- NAPLAN commences
- Year 1&2 swimming
- Playgroup
Ange Padgett
Principal
apadg6@eq.edu.au
Care Class and Focus of the Week
This week in Care Class we will be focusing on Care for Self by developing resilience and celebrating success. We will be focusing on the Power of Yet, which is a great example of growth mindset and has benefits including higher self-esteem, increased confidence and more motivation for learning. The power of "yet" is the idea that just because you haven't achieved something or learned a skill, it doesn't mean you won't in the future. Instead of saying, "I'm not good at that," adding "yet" changes it to "I'm not good at that yet." Keeping a positive mindset also allows us to reduce our stress and help us develop our resilience.
Pop-up Second Hand Uniform Sale
P&C News
We hope you and your family are safe and well after a weekend of wild weather.
We would also like to welcome Kaitlyn to the Sole Cafe as our new barista following a delayed start (thanks Alfred!). Kaitlyn has previously worked for a major coffee chain so we can't wait to see what she will bring to our humble cafe. Kaitlyn is looking forward to making great coffee for everyone at Mango Hill SS, so please take the time to welcome her when you next pop into the Sole Café.
Welcome to Week 7!
We had a delayed start to the week with the changes on Monday and hopefully you and your families did not experience too much damage over the weekend. Significant events such as a tropical cyclone can raise lots of questions and sometimes worries for young children. Making time to listen to these can help children process what has happened and ease concerns around any future events. There are several children's books on natural disasters that can help such conversations, such as Jackie French's natural disaster series. These should be available at your local library.
Playground change
The recent weather has impacted the Prep play area. Prep will be playing in the Year 1 area until the Prep area is back to normal. We have prepared the children for this change by visiting the new play area and establishing in and out of bounds areas before our first play there. You can support safety by ensuring your child is not playing on the green grassed area behind the toilet block or on any playgrounds before school and staying well away from any areas that have been cordoned off. Thank you for your support with this.
Mieke Munko
Deputy Principal-Prep
mmunk1@eq.edu.au
Well done to our Year 1 friends on settling back in to learning after an unpredictable and chaotic week. I hope everyone stayed safe and dry as much as possible.
Decodable Readers Australia
Decodable Readers Australia (DRA) is a phenomenal resource that our Year 1 students have access to. The readers and videos work to reinforce what your child is learning in class and teachers can monitor their progress and unlock new levels when required.
One of my favourite parts (and my daughters as well) is the phonics videos. There are three sets of engaging videos:
- Phonemic Awareness Videos (phoneme isolation, phoneme blending)
- Sound Hunt Videos (for each phoneme/grapheme across Level 1-8)
- Phonics Consolidation Videos (5 videos for each level in 1-8)
Below is a link to the parent brochure, which provides more details about all Decodable Readers Australia has to offer.
Swimming Update
Swimming will proceed this week as normal. Due to missing swimming lessons last week, our block has been extended into Week 1 of Term 2. It will continue with the same time and day as this term.
Parent Teacher Interviews
I encourage all parents to book in to meet with their child’s teacher this term. This is an opportunity to discuss how your child is going emotionally, socially and academically now that we have settled in to the school year.
An email was sent out earlier today in regards to how to book.
Have a wonderful week everyone,
Evan Barrett
Deputy Principal –Year 1
ebmcf0@eq.edu.au
Attendance
It has been wonderful to see our Year 2 attendance rate remain so high throughout the term! Our current attendance rate is 93.67%, which is a fantastic achievement. We would love to see this continue to grow as the year progresses.
Did you know? Research shows that in Queensland, higher student attendance at school is strongly associated with higher student achievement.
Regular school attendance gives your child the best chance at success. Children who go to school all day, every school day:
- learn more effectively
- build friendships
- are happier
- have brighter futures
If you are experiencing any challenges in getting your child to school each day, establishing a consistent routine can really help. Here are some tips:
- Set a regular bedtime
- Have a consistent wake-up time
- Get uniforms and school bags ready the night before
- Set times for starting and finishing breakfast
- Allocate a regular time for homework
- Speak positively about school
- Be consistent and firm – send your child to school every school day, including on their birthday and the last day of term!
If you need support in overcoming school attendance challenges, please reach out to your child’s teacher. We are here to help!
Also, if you have any extended holidays planned, please notify the office as early as possible so that any necessary exemption paperwork can be completed for your child’s absence.
Thank you for supporting your child’s learning by ensuring they are at school every day!
Parent Teacher Interviews
Parent-Teacher Interviews are an important opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher and discuss their progress and engagement in learning. I encourage all parents and carers to book an interview. Working together in partnership ensures the best outcomes for your child.
English – Preparing for Assessment
In English, we are preparing for our speaking and listening assessment. The students have been working hard in groups to plan and practise sharing their opinions.
You can continue to support your child at home by encouraging them to express their opinion about a character in a book you read together.
Year 2 Swimming
As you are aware, our Year 2 swimming lessons were postponed this week due to the weather event. Swimming will resume as normal from Monday, 17 March (Week 8). Catch-up sessions will be scheduled for Week 2 of Term 4. Class teachers will remind families closer to the time.
Have a great week, everyone!
Jessica Burnett
Deputy Principal- Year 2
jburn289@eq.edu.au
Birdies message
We would like to extend a sincere thank you to our dedicated Team Mango for their exceptional teamwork during the recent weather events that affected our community. It has been truly heartwarming to see the bright, smiling faces of our students as they return to school with such a positive attitude, diving straight back into their learning.
Our Year 3 teachers remain committed to supporting this transition, with a strong emphasis on wellbeing and reconnection. We understand that after such significant events, students may process their emotions in different ways. It’s crucial to provide them with the care and support they need during this time.
To assist families and children through this period, we recommend exploring a wonderful resource from Children's Health Queensland. They offer a valuable flipbook and video that can guide both children and parents in navigating the challenges posed by the recent weather events.
NAPLAN Preparations
As mentioned in recent emails, the start date for NAPLAN has been slightly adjusted and will now begin on Friday, March 14. Our students will begin with the Writing test, followed by Reading, Conventions of Language, and Numeracy, in that order.
A friendly reminder that students are not expected to study specifically for NAPLAN. However, you can support your child by reassuring them that NAPLAN is simply a part of their regular school program. Encourage them to approach the assessments with confidence and to simply do their best.
If you would like to familiarise yourself with the types of questions and tools available in the online NAPLAN assessments, we invite you to visit the link below:
Deputy Principal
The Benefits of Community
Given that Cyclone Alfred is so fresh in our minds and that many of us are still processing and even dealing with the associated aspects of such a weather event, I wanted to say that everyone’s wellbeing is definitely something at the front of our minds at the moment.
We consider Mango Hill State School our community and as such want to reach out and say we are thinking of you and ask that you reach out to us if needed.
Speaking with the students on their return, I have heard many different accounts of family adventures from biking in the rain, being towed on dad’s jet ski, trees falling down, to no power which resulted in one male student being delighted that he didn’t have to take a shower (I feel only a boy would say something like this?). It seems that we as a community have been lucky and that is a blessing!
It was great to see the students return on Tuesday and to be able to catch up, but also to see how ready they were to return to learning and being with their friends.
Another benefit of being a school community is that of home and school relationships. Please know that I am a firm believer in developing partnerships with parents and carers in relation to your child’s learning and wellbeing.
You play an important role supporting your child’s education. Research has shown that when schools and families work together children:
- Do better
- Stay in school longer
- Are more engaged with their school work
- Attend more regularly
- Make better behaviour choices
- Have better social skills.
Parent Teacher Interviews
We are preparing for Parent/Teacher Interviews. These are an opportunity for you to connect with your child’s teacher and discuss their academic and personal development in this first part of the school year. Interviews will be offered via an online booking system. Please keep an eye out for the information regarding this and the times your child’s teacher will be available. I know each class teacher is looking forward to meeting with as many parents and carers in a one to one situation as possible.
Barbara Cornford
Deputy Principal –Year 4
bcorn3@eq.edu.au
I hope this message finds you and your family safe and well following the passing of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Our thoughts are with those who may have been impacted. Please do not hesitate to reach out if there is anything we can do to support you.
Literacy Focus
Teachers are currently working hard to support students in spelling, with a particular focus on morphology. Morphology is the study of meaningful parts of words and includes three main areas bases, prefixes and suffixes. This helps students identify meaningful patterns in words.
During the week, classes were looking at the suffix ly. ‘ly’ is usually used to create adverbs (to describe verbs).
NAPLAN
As per the email sent on email on Monday 10 March, there has been an adjustment to the NAPLAN schedule. NAPLAN will now start on Friday 14 March for students at Mango Hill State School. This change has been made to ensure that all students are well-prepared and feeling confident. Please refer to the email for the detailed information, and feel free to contact the school if you have any questions or concerns regarding the updated schedule.
The best way to support students during NAPLAN is to get a good night sleep and a healthy breakfast before coming to school.
Have a great week.
Greg McCallum
Deputy Principal- Year 5
gmcca24@eq.edu.au
Mango Mentors
This week, I visited our Year 6 classrooms and presented 58 students with Mango Mentor badges. These students have consistently demonstrated the Four Cares and Five Values and wear their uniform with pride. Team Mango are so lucky to have such amazing leaders in Year 6 that are willing to volunteer their time to make Team Mango a better place.
Our Year 6 students can still work towards becoming a Mango Mentor for 2025. Any Year 6 student who successfully completes their Student Leadership Passport (these can be collected from the office), can become a Mango Mentor throughout the year.
This year, our Mango Mentors will take on special roles, specifically supporting students across the lower school. Congratulations, Mango Mentors!
High school transitions for 2025
Although this feels like a long way off, the time passes by quickly and before we know it, our Year 6 students will be off to high school! If you are yet to plan for where your child will be attending high school, I strongly encourage exploring this now. Towards the end of term, our class teachers will begin collecting some initial data on who is attending what high school. This will help us as we look ahead to Semester 2 to plan transition days and activities for our students attending different schools.
Danielle Price
Deputy Principal- Year 6
dxobr0@eq.edu.au
Reading with your child
After the wild weather of the past week, we hope you and your family have found moments of calm—perhaps curled up with a good book, escaping into a story together. Reading is a wonderful way to unwind, connect, and explore new worlds, no matter what’s happening outside.
The Department of Education, in collaboration with P&Cs Queensland, has provided an online reading session for parents and carers to assist with supporting reading at home. A recording of the Twilight reading session for parents and carers is available at this site: https://education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/stages-of-schooling/queenslands-reading-commitment
(Scroll down to find the video).
Library News
The library needs your help!
If you have an hour to spare on Monday 17 March, between 8:30am-12:30pm, please drop in and help us cover some new books and student resources. Thank you for your support!
Have a fantastic week
Rachael Beard & Marissa Krosman - HODs
Physical Education News
Pine Rivers Interschool Sport - PRIS (Year 5-6)
Nominations are now closed for students wanting to participate in PRIS. Invoices will now be forwarded to those students who have returned their consent form. A payment of $36.00 is due by Week 7, Friday 14 March 2025. This covers all competition costs. There will be no partial refunds if one or more sessions are missed.
MHSS Cross Country (Year 3 - 6)
On Monday 31 March 2025 (Term 1, Week 10) the Mango Hill State School Years 3-6 Senior Cross Country will be run. Attached is the timetable (please note there are 2 pages) and map for the day. Students will be instructed during PE lessons of their course and will also complete a walk through prior to the day.
All students from Year 3 to Year 6 will be running their cross country course. Students have different distances for their races (see below). The course is colour coded with markers, so depending on their race distance, students follow different marker colours (this is also on the map attached).
Students who place in the top 3 for their race will receive ribbons on the podiums straight after their race. For each event students accrue house points that go towards the Cross Country House Championship. Each event has the following points:
Therefore, each student that participates in an event will receive at least one point for their house. We strongly encourage all students to participate in the cross country, however if your child cannot complete the course due to injury or illness can you please inform their class teacher.
On the day, students will still assemble in class as per normal at 8.30am. They will then come to the oval with their class (at their designated time as per the attachment). Some frequently asked questions have been answered below:
- My son/daughter is in Year 4. Do they run in the Morning or Middle session? For sporting events students compete according to their ‘Year of Birth’ not their grade level. Therefore, if your son/daughter is born in 2015 - they will run in the morning and if your son/daughter is born in 2016 – they will run in the middle session.
- What do students wear? – Hats must be worn to the oval but students are allowed to complete the course without their hats on (sunscreen is provided and all students must put their hat back on immediately following the race). Normal sports uniform shirt is to be worn (no house coloured shirts). Normal sports uniform shorts can be worn and students are permitted to wear running shorts/skins during the race.
- Do students have to wear shoes? – Yes, closed in footwear must be worn. Students are permitted to wear running shoes (no spikes) during the race but must change back into normal school footwear post-race.
- What do students need to take to the oval? – Students must take their hat, water bottle and brain break (if running in the morning session) to the oval. In addition, they will need any medication including Epipens and asthma puffers etc.
- Can students qualify for Districts? – Yes. Students aged 10 - 12 years (Born 2015-2013) are also eligible to be selected in the Mango Hill Cross Country Team to compete at the Pine Rivers District Cross Country Trials which will be held in Term 2. If a student places in the top 5 for their race and they complete the course in a suitable time, they will be selected in the Mango Hill State School Cross Country Team. They will receive further information about this closer to the event date.
All family and friends are welcome to come and support students who are running. Spectators are encouraged to wear house colours to show support for Barton, Flynn and Walker houses. A reminder to parents and carers that plan on attending, please make sure you remain in the designated spectator area.
MHSS Junior Cross Country (Prep - Year 2)
On Friday 28 March (Term 1, Week 9) the Mango Hill State School Junior Cross Country will be run. Attached is the timetable for the day and a map of the course. Students will be instructed during PE lessons of their course and will also complete a walk through.
All students from Prep to Year 2 will be running their cross-country course and will have different lengths for their races (see below). The course is colour coded with markers so depending on their race distance, students follow different markers (this will also be on the map).
We strongly encourage all students to participate in the cross country; however, if your child cannot complete the course due to injury or illness can you please inform their class teacher. On the day students will assemble in class as normal at 8.15am. They will then come to the oval with their class. Some frequently asked questions have been answered below;
- What do students wear? – Hats must be worn to the oval but students are allowed to complete the course without their hats on (sunscreen is provided and all students must put their hat back on immediately following the race). Normal sports uniform shirt is to be worn (no house coloured shirts). Normal sports uniform shorts can be worn and students are permitted to wear running shorts/skins during the race.
- Do students have to wear shoes? – Yes, closed in footwear must be worn. Students are permitted to wear running shoes during the race but must change back into normal school footwear post-race.
- What do students need to take to the oval? – Students must take their hat, water bottle and brain break to the oval. In addition, they will need any medication including Epipens and asthma puffers etc.
All family and friends are welcome to come and support students who are running. Spectators are encouraged to wear house colours to show support for Barton, Flynn and Walker houses. A reminder to parents and carers that plan on attending, please make sure you remain in the designated spectator area.
Mr Hills, Mr Newell, Mr Lisha and Miss Wilson
Physical Education Teachers
