Term 3 Week 1 2021

Welcome to Term 3!

It is fabulous to see our students returning this week with such enthusiasm for learning. A special welcome to our many new families who have joined our school community.

In 2021 we have been focussed on improving in two key areas:

• Connection with students and families to improve wellbeing and behaviour.
• Clarity of the curriculum and teaching so that students know HOW to succeed.

This week I have seen some wonderful examples of staff members connecting with students to build quality relationships and ensure we think about the function or motivation of inappropriate student behaviour so we can respond in the best way. We want students to have their needs met in a safe, socially acceptable way. We look forward to further work in Semester 2.

Report cards

Parents will receive their child’s Semester 1 report card today. Teachers rate student achievement against the Australian Curriculum Achievement Standard. Students complete various assessment tasks which are then moderated with other classes within the school and also with other state primary schools.

It is important to remember that the "Working with" rating (for Prep students), "Sound" rating (for Year 1-Year 2) and the "C" rating (for Year 3-6) are what most students can expect. This means they are achieving at year level expectation against the National Standard.

Please take the time to read this report and contact your child’s teacher if you wish to discuss further.

School Opinion Survey

The annual suite of School Opinion Surveys will be conducted in Term 3 and will close on 30 July 2021. We encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say about what our school does well, and how we can improve.

An invitation to complete the Parent/Caregiver Survey was emailed to one parent/caregiver per family in the week beginning 5 July. The invitation was sent from the Department of Education, not the school, and it will have the subject line School Opinion Survey for parents and caregivers, 2021. Check your junk email folders if you can’t find it. The survey can be completed as soon as the invitation is received and will take approximately 5 minutes using a computer, tablet or smart phone. 

Parents/caregivers who do not have access to the internet at home are welcome to complete their survey online at the school. School computers/tablets will be available. Please let us know if we can assist you in anyway to complete this survey.

Awards Ceremonies

Over the next 9 days we have the Year 1-6 Award Ceremonies. We look forward to celebrating with students who meet criteria for an award. If your child is receiving an award, you should have received an email from their class teacher, PE teacher, Deputy Principal or myself. All parents are welcome to attend but please ensure social distance and stay home if unwell. Please wear a mask if you can’t socially distance.

Due to COVID restrictions we won’t be providing a morning tea but parents are welcome to stay and chat with the Deputy Principal and myself. Our fabulous SOLE café will be open if you wish to grab a coffee before or after the awards ceremonies. We look forward to congratulating the award recipients.

Uniform Focus

This week we are focussing on ensuring students are in their correct uniform. Each day from Tuesday to Friday, each class will be awarded a point per student in their class in the correct uniform. Classes that get 80 points over the four days will go into the draw for a prize. Please assist your child to meet our community expectations by ensuring they have the correct uniform including school bag (or plain navy or black bag). If your family is in financial hardship, please don’t hesitate to let us know so that we can assist.

Look at these students in 2S and 4G with their thermometer of points!

Prep News

Welcome to Term 3! While Mrs White is on leave for the first two weeks of this term, I have the privilege of acting as Deputy Principal for the Prep Sector. 

It was great to see our Prep students return in full school uniform and ready to learn! I loved reading about all of the different holiday adventures and I was impressed with many of the students remembering to use finger spaces, full stops, capital letters, sight words and aiming to include at least 3 events and their feelings! This term in Prep, we will further build on these writing skills to create posters which explain what we like about particular books. To piece the ideas together in our writing, we need to be able to talk about our ideas orally first. You can help with this at home. Talk about the books when you read them at home: “I laughed because the cat spilt his milk over the floor” and “I love this book because the cat is clumsy when he is walking around the house”. The focus is that our writing can communicate our ideas.

Over the next two weeks our Prep students will be participating in the Raw Art incursion. I look forward to seeing many wonderful artworks – from Rad Robots, Beaut Birds, Bottle Brush Prints to Monochrome Face Art.

Have a lovely week.

Year 3 News

Our Year 3 students have had an excellent first few days back at school! We’ve seen lots of smiling faces both in and out of the classroom with friends reunited and new students to welcome. I have been keeping a special eye out for our students wearing the correct uniform this week, as classes gather points every day to be eligible for a class prize. Well done to everyone who is wearing their uniform with pride every day!

Moving around our classes this week I have seen lots of new learning happening. This week, Year 3 have started learning about multiplication and representing number sentences in a range of different ways. It is fantastic to see some of the knowledge that the students already have!

This term, we have a schoolwide focus on Growth mindset. Our classes will be working towards a class goal linked to this theme throughout the term. Growth mindset is all about ‘bouncing back’, showing grit and determination in the face of challenges. Examples of showing a growth mindset at school include: overcoming challenges; completing a difficult task; having another go when you get something wrong the first time; trying something new; and setting goals.

I am sure I will get to celebrate many examples of students showing a growth mindset throughout the term.

On Monday, we will celebrate with the students who achieved Academic, Principal’s, Deputy Principal’s and Sports awards based on results from Semester 1. I look forward to acknowledging the efforts of these students.

Year 4 News

How exciting to be back at school for Semester 2. It is always such a joy to see students so happy to be back with their friends and teachers. 

Our Year 4 students are already engaged in this term’s learning. This week I have met with each of our wonderful Year 4 teachers to continue our teaching and learning together with your children. Our class teachers are working closely with Jess Ferguson, our Inclusive Education Teacher, to ensure inclusive classrooms and practices. 

Uniform Week is a hit in Year 4. Students did so well on Tuesday and today. Thank you very much for your support.

I can’t wait to get to know all our Year 4 students and their families better, and I look forward to working in partnership with you. 

Care for Learning in Year 5 and 6

It has been a great start to learning in the Year 5 and 6 classrooms this week to commence Term 3. When I have walked through classrooms I have observed the great work of teachers and students in developing clarity of learning success. I have observed students using scales to reflect on different standards of work. This has been a great way to start the learning and make it super clear to students what they can do to be successful. It was great also observing Year 6 classrooms embed collaborative learning as well as tactile learning to commence their learning of shape within the maths curriculum. I also appreciated the work classrooms were doing in ensuring there was strong and positive connections between peers. Classrooms have hit the ground running and have embedded circle time to help provide a positive culture. Great start to Term 3 Year 5 and 6!

Life Education

This week our school commenced the Life Education program. Life Education motivates and empowers young people to make smart life choices for a healthy future. The program focuses on topics students may encounter at different developmental ages. These include cyber safety, making positive friendships and making healthy choices. The program is fun and interactive and when I have spoken to students who have participated they have been excited about what they have learnt and the experience they have had.  

Year 6 Graduation

At the end of last term the Graduation Committee met to confirm the details of the 2021 Year 6 Graduation. I can confirm that the ceremony will be held in our new school hall on the evening of Wednesday 8 December. In the coming weeks I will be surveying students about catering options and activities to mark the celebration of their achievements. As per each year the formal part of the ceremony will include the presentation of graduation certificates and speeches. We look forward to celebrating this special moment with our students and families.

Camps

This semester at Mango Hill State School, our Year 4,5 and 6 students have the opportunity to attend camp. We start preparing students for their camp in the weeks leading up to it, by having parent meetings and student information sessions.

During student information sessions we watch videos of the camps, look at photos of the activities, accommodation and food information. We answer general questions about the camp.

Some ways you may help your child feel positive about camp include:

• Preparing your child by creating independence with routines such as dressing, organising belongings and perhaps having a sleepover with friends.
• Discussing the camp and experiences and friendships they will enjoy. If your child feels anxious or nervous, allow your child to discuss their concerns with you. Some concerns may just need some reassurance from you and our experience is that some will be alleviated as soon as the camp starts and all the fun and new experiences begin. Other concerns are best shared and addressed by arranging a meeting with your child’s class teacher so that we can work as a team to find the solutions. 
• Involve your child in packing and organising their belongings for camp.
• Meet with your child’s teacher to communicate important information eg sleep concerns so staff can support your child to have a wonderful camp.

We wish our wonderful Year 6 students and staff a happy camp as they set off in Week 2. Year 5 travel to camp later this term, and our Year 4 students will experience their first school camp in Term 4. 

National Diabetes Week

This year, National Diabetes Week will run from 11 – 17 July and the ‘Heads Up on Diabetes’ campaign will focus on challenging diabetes-related stigma. Stigma can lead to people not sharing their diagnosis with others, getting the help and support they need, being interested to learn more about their diabetes or doing what they need to do each day to manage their diabetes and stay well. To learn more, head to www.diabetesqld.org.au

Have a great week.

Curriculum Happenings in Term 3 

This term promises to be an exciting term of learning. We look forward to supporting all of our students to be their very best as they continue to develop and apply their new understandings. 

This term our teachers will be introducing students to our Health units. Students will learn about making healthy choices to support their wellbeing and understand their emotions better.  They will also get to visit the Life Education van, with visits starting in Week 1. 

More information about each year’s curriculum can be found on the Term 2 Curriculum Overview attached. 

Jess Rivett
Head of Curriculum
jxqui5@eq.edu.au