Term 2 Week 3 2021

The Care Class focus that will be delivered this Friday, is Safety in the Learning Environment. This focus has the purpose of developing:

• When I care for self I am being safe and secure in the classroom
• When I care for the environment I am respecting belongings
• When I care for others I report unsafe equipment so that people don’t get hurt.

Students will be discussing how it looks/sounds/feels to walk sensibly in the classroom, use equipment sensibly, ask permission to leave the classroom, only go into a room when a teacher is present, sit on chairs safely and ways to self-regulate their emotions. This focus will also be reinforced the following week so students can practise their learnings.

In Maths, we are exploring length. We are working out how to measure objects to see which one is longest. We aren’t using rulers just yet! Before we learn precise measurements, we need to be able to…

• Know how to use the same starting point to measure
• Know, understand and use the vocabulary of measurement; long, longest, longer, shorter, shortest, short, equal / same
• Have a good go at estimating length of objects, using everyday items.

Learning about length is fun! At home, you could support this work by using objects around your house and using the language of comparison. “Hmmmm, which one is longer, the knife or the fork?” Check your child uses the same starting point so it’s a fair comparison!

We hope to see as many mums and special caregivers at our Stay and Play mornings this Thursday and Friday, to celebrate the special mums and caregivers in our lives. You should have received an invitation from your child, letting you know which day to attend. We would appreciate it if parents and children not scheduled for that morning, ensure they wait for the start of their school day away from the Stay and Play space. This includes the grassed area. There continues to be many children who are playing on the grassed area before school. Another reminder, if your Prep child is dropped to school between 8 and 8:15, they should wait in the Prep undercover area with Miss Fiona for their bell to ring for class. If your child is waiting for school to start with you, then they need to wait with you please. Thank you for your support!

Playing our part to build a national picture of child health

In early 2021, our school, along with thousands of others across the country will begin preparations for the fifth Australian Early Development Census (AEDC).

The AEDC gives us a national picture of the development, health and wellbeing of children in their first year of full-time school. Since 2009, the census results have helped communities, schools and governments plan services and develop better policies to target support for children and families.

Children don’t miss any class time, and parents/carers don’t need to supply schools with any new information for the census. The AEDC gives us data at a school and community level - it isn’t an assessment of individual children.  We have used previous data from the 2018 AEDC to work with our incoming Preps and kindergartens and to share knowledge in a more “big picture way” about the students in our community and how we can work together to help them transition well to school.  Some teachers have also noticed that completing the assessments made them more aware of the needs of individual children and the class as a whole and that the census results are useful in planning for transitions to Year 1 and developing class programs. 

Participation in the AEDC is voluntary. Parents/carers don’t need to take any action unless they choose not to include their children in the census.  To find out more about the census and how communities are using the data to help children and families visit the AEDC website: www.aedc.gov.au.

If you have any questions, you can contact me at mwhit37@eq.edu.au or call me at the school.  

Have a lovely week

Year 3 and 4 News

At Mango Hill State School, our staff work hard to provide clarity and support to all students during learning. One of the ways our teachers do this is through our ‘Learning Walls’. We call the Learning Walls the ‘Third Teacher’ as it is a place that students can go to for help during a lesson if they can’t get immediate support from their classroom teacher. These Learning Walls are co-constructed by teachers and students and are used purposefully to enhance writing and solve problems. It has been wonderful to see the way our students are using these walls more and more as the year progresses to support their learning.

This week I had privilege of visiting 3F during their writing lesson and 3C during a measurement lesson. In 3F, students were looking to improve their diary entries from Charlotte’s Web by using a consistent mood. Mrs Fitzpatrick challenged her students to carefully select noun and verb groups to reflect the mood of a character. 3F collaborated throughout the lesson to generate a variety of noun and verb groups to include in their diary entries.

3C were working hard at measurement during their Maths lesson. They did a ‘deep dive’ all about rulers and discovered some fascinating features of rulers to support them in taking accurate measurements. The students then used their understanding to measure a range of objects around the classroom.

Amazing learning on display in 3F and 3C! I look forward to visiting some more Year 3 and 4 classrooms this coming week.

NAPLAN online

Last Thursday we held our parent information session regarding NAPLAN online. Please read on in our ‘curriculum’ section of the newsletter for key information from the presentation. NAPLAN online begins on Tuesday 11 May for our students in Years 3 and 5. If you have any specific questions regarding NAPLAN online, please contact our NAPLAN coordinators: Jess Rivett (jxqui5@eq.edu.au) and Ben Mills (bxmil3@eq.edu.au).

Care for Learning in Year 5 and 6

It feels like we have blinked and suddenly a fortnight of learning has raced by in Year 5 and 6. This week I had the opportunity to work in some Year 5 classes as they continued their work on persuasive writing. In particular I had the pleasure of working in 5S as Miss Stacey modelled a persuasive piece of writing convincing her class that cooking is a great hobby. Students were exposed to Miss Stacey’s thinking and then replicated a similar process for their persuasive writing. I had the opportunity to read some convincing arguments about why I should take up football, gaming, drawing and listening to music. What I liked specifically was the use of high modality language and the strategic use of persuasive techniques. Well done 5S!

Year 6 Student Leaders

To mark the beginning of Term 2 it was my pleasure this week to award the next round of Student Leader badges to some much deserving Year 6 students. These students have worked hard for a long time in being great role models within our school community. Throughout their time at Mango Hill State School all of these students have followed the Four Cares and our values. Also, many of these students have demonstrated commitment to a growth mindset and improving each and every day. Congratulations Year 6!

EcoMarine Ambassadors

Last week our four Year 5 EcoMarine Ambassadors represented Mango Hill State School when they connected with other EcoMarine schools and visited Tangalooma to learn more about how we can care for the environment. Students learnt about the impact our lifestyle has on our waterways and in particular what we can do as a community to look after our natural world. We look forward in learning from our Ambassadors as we continue to care for our environment.

Year 6 Graduation

Each year I work with the Graduation Committee in organising the Year 6 Graduation. As our school continues to grow, each year we reflect on our Graduation Ceremony and look at ways of celebrating the impact our Year 6 students have on our school and the achievement of completing their primary phase of learning. This week I will email all Year 6 families offering the opportunity to be a part of this year’s Graduation Committee. If you would like to be a member of the committee and prepared to work with a group of passionate families, please email me and I will add you to the email list. I look forward to meeting with the Graduation Committee in the near future and working with you in ensuring we celebrate the great achievements of our Year 6 2021 cohort.

Have a terrific week

Premier’s Reading Challenge

Mango Hill State School has once again registered for the Premier’s Reading Challenge. This year the challenge begins on 10 May and finishes on the 27 August. This gives us a few days now to consider which books we would like to read in the coming months. Students are able to read any books at all – those that they have borrowed from the school library, as well as those from our own home libraries or local libraries. Any kinds of books, including picture books, poetry books, factual books, chapter books or novels, are able to be included. Students in Years 5 and 6 need to read 15 books, and students from Prep to Year 4 need to read (or listen to) 20 books.

Don’t forget to record all of the books you read on the special Reading Challenge forms. These are attached or available from the Hub. All completed forms should be returned to the Hub by 27 August.

Last year we had 100s of students participate in the Premier’s Reading Challenge and we look forward to many more joining us in 2021! Let’s get planning so we are ready to read, read and read from the 10 May!

NAPLAN ONLINE

NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through their regular school curriculum. Students are assessed on the same literacy and numeracy curriculum content, regardless of whether they complete the tests online or on paper. One of the main benefits of NAPLAN Online is tailored (or adaptive) testing, in which the test presents questions of higher or lower complexity depending on a student’s performance. Tailored (or adaptive) testing is designed to assess a wider range of student abilities and to measure student achievement more precisely. Your child should not be concerned if they find questions more challenging than usual; they may be taking a more complex test pathway. A student’s overall NAPLAN score is based on the number and complexity of questions they answer correctly.

Why do students do NAPLAN?

Students in Years 3 and 5 participate in the annual NAPLAN tests in reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The assessment provides parents and schools with an understanding of how individual students are performing at the time of the tests. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process – it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance.

What can I do to support my child?

On its own, NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for and students are not expected to do so. You can support your child by reassuring them that NAPLAN is just one part of their school program, and by reminding them on the day to simply do their best.

Our teachers have been working with students to ensure they are familiar with the types of questions in the tests and will provide appropriate support and guidance. Students have also had opportunities to practise using the NAPLAN browser so they are familiar with how it works and looks ready for next week.

Participation in NAPLAN

All students in Years 3 and 5 are expected to participate in the annual NAPLAN assessment. Students with a disability may qualify for adjustments that reflect the support normally provided for classroom assessments. You should discuss the use of any adjustments for your child with your child’s teacher.

What if my child is absent from school on NAPLAN days?

Where possible, we will arrange for individual students who are absent at the time of testing to complete missed tests at another time during the school’s test schedule. Please see the schedule below.

Where can I get more information?

For more information about NAPLAN:

• contact your child’s class teacher or Jessica Rivett jxqui5@eq.edu.au or Ben Mills bxmil3@eq.edu.au (NAPLAN coordinators)
• contact your local test administration authority at https://nap.edu.au/contacts/test-administration-authorities-contacts
• visit https://nap.edu.au/

To learn how ACARA handles personal information for NAPLAN, visit https://nap.edu.au/naplan/privacy

We are still running a Pantry Drive for Mango Manchies and Sole Cafe. 

We are looking for donations for staple items. For example jam, vegemite, margarine to name a few and all the things we need to continue to run a growing canteen.

For each item donated your child will receive a raffle ticket.

Every Friday 2 tickets will be drawn and 2 children get to choose from our prize basket.

Sushi Friday

Did you know we offer a choice of Sushi which can be found on flexischools.

As we have to pre order, orders do need to be placed by 8:30am Thursday.

Louise, Bec and the Canteen Crew

Uniform shop hours during the term are:
Monday 8:00am-10:30am
Wednesday 1:30pm-3:30pm
Friday 8:00am-10:30am
Online @ www.wearitto.com.au/schools/mango-hill-state-school

We hope you are all well and have enjoyed the public holidays.  We will now go back to our regular trading times as above.  

I have also attached the link above to our on-line store which can help with ordering winter clothes.    

Have a great week!

Belinda and Zoe
Uniform Shop Convenors