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ECDP 38935158 Dental Service (off site) 1300300850 Uniform shop 38935118 Cafeteria 38935128 BASE committee 33965368 Wynnum Wahoos Swim Club 33965368 Wynnum PCYC School age care absentee line text 0429879913 with your child’s name, session and date of absence.

In this newsletter

12 December 2019

Website address: https://wynnumss.eq.edu.au

Principal: Glenyce Hadfield Deputy Principal: Megan Connell Deputy Principal: Sonya Wilson Deputy Principal: Ron van den Brande

Principal’s Message Loving Literature Habit of Mind Library Buzz Prep Beach Day Year 6 Swimming Carnival Strong Start Strong Learner P&C News Calendar Community News

SCHOOL WATCH! – With the holidays fast approaching, we need local communities looking out for our schools. If you do see something suspicious, please do not intervene. Call the School Watch number on 13 17 88 and let the local police or State Government Protective Security Service address the matter.

principal@wynnumss.eq.edu.au

REMINDER – Please do not bring Resource kits on first day of Term 1 – Label the box with your child’s name

Leaving in 2020?

If, unfortunately, your child in Prep to Year 5 will not be

returning to Wynnum State School in 2020, written advice

is greatly appreciated. This information assists with

staffing and construct of Year Level and Homeroom

groupings.

UNIFORM SHOP HOLIDAY TRADING – The uniform shop (positioned behind the Cafeteria) will be opening during the school Holidays. Thursday 23 January 9:00am-3:00pm Friday 24 January 9:00am-3:00pm The uniform shop will be open on the first day of school for 2020, Tuesday 28 January, 8:30am – 9:30am

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PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE Here we are in the last week of the school year.

REPORTING TO PARENTS - It is the time where schools communicate, in writing, to parents and students information about academic progress. This communication is in the form of a report card, generated and stored electronically through OneSchool. When flicking through my report cards, from when I was at school, (just a few years ago!), it was a stark reminder of how times have changed, from a handwritten, small two page card that informed my parents that I was attaining a % in a select group of subjects, progressing satisfactorily and in some instances well, and that I attended school every day.

The staff at Wynnum State School take great pride in the reporting process. Taking the time to assess, moderate and evaluate the work covered in each subject area, so as to provide a summary of how a young learner has progressed during the semester. This progress is described using a rating code, which is a state wide system utilised by every public school.

The report card offers a wonderful opportunity for the student to lead a discussion in the family regarding what has been learnt, how this was achieved, the effort and what will be the considerations for the new year of learning and the goals for improvement.

Some parents, on occasions, have questioned why the report cards comments are written in jargon or education speak. This jargon is the language associated with subjects and learning, and is the basis of the standards and expectations set out in the Australian Curriculum and Education Queensland documentation. In essence it is the technical and field knowledge that is specifically associated with the particular learning areas. It is the school’s responsibility to teach this language.

Today, report cards are distributed to every student from Prep to Year. Celebrate the growth, achievements and goals attained. And, look forward to what the new learning year will bring.

SEASON TO CELEBRATE – Last night, the joy, Wynnum Warrior spirit, and sheer pleasure and pride that permeated the Wynnum Manly Leagues Club was something of wonderment and awe. Firstly, thank you to the students for making it a very unique night, a night that attempted to culminate their primary school years, and this was certainly achieved. Thank you to the staff and parents for making the night special and one for everlasting memories. There was so much happiness prevailing. And, as we go into the festive season, happiness is what we wish for everyone.

Happiness is a mental state of wellbeing characterised by positive emotions, ranging from contentment to intense joy. Happiness comes from within.

Philosophers and religious thinkers often define happiness in terms of living a good life. Humans seem happiest when they have -

pleasure (tasty foods, warm baths etc)

engagement (the absorption of an enjoyed yet challenging activity)

relationships (social ties have turned out to be extremely reliable indicators of happiness)

meaning (a perceived quest or belonging to something bigger) and

accomplishments (having realised tangible goals).

Research also shows that happier people are generally healthier people – not only mental, but also physically. There is evidence suggesting that people can improve their happiness. What distinguishes happy people from the unhappy is their attitude – they have a different way of thinking about things and doing things. They interpret the world in a different way, and go about their lives in a different way. The state of happiness may spill over to your family and friends, thus making them happy too.

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A few points to think about at this time of the year -

happiness increases the more you give and share it with others

happiness comes with contentment with the life that you lead with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours

happiness is strengthened when we count our blessings and reach out to others

A recent message from a yoga class stated – ‘Happiness is your birthright, so claim it, be one of the people who decides to become all they can be, enjoy every day, make the most out of life and live, don’t just exist within it.’

Happy holidays to all – enjoy the break. Rejoice, refresh, rejuvenate, regulate all that festive food (!), restock the energy, remain hopeful and restore the intelligences ready for the new school year. School will recommence on Tuesday, 28 January. 2020 …… see you then.

And, thank you to all who have contributed to the Wynnum village and have assisted with the raising of our young citizens – greatly appreciate.

Glenyce Hadfield PRINCIPAL

LOVING LITERATURE In learning to read, students learn about phonemic and phonological awareness. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words, for example the sound of /b/ in bed, and the sound of /f/ in fed. Whereby phonics is the set of relationships between the sound system of oral language and the letter system of written language. The relationships between sounds and letters are complex and variable. When processing alphabetic text, readers rely on multiple sources of information within that text to make meaning. (These sources of information are only available in meaningful texts.) Readers can access more information from these texts. The more information they can access, the easier it is for them to read and understand the text. Three important sources of information in text are meaning, grammar and letter sound relationships – often referred to as semantics, syntax and graphophonic relationships respectively. Traditionally, that is in my day, reading was viewed simply as the visual cognitive skill required to ‘read the words’ in alphabetic texts. Getting the words right (that is, pronouncing each word correctly) was considered good reading – comprehension was not the focus. However, today, the ultimate purpose of reading is to construct and reconstruct the meaning of text (Anstey, 2002; Braunger and Lewis, 1998; Goodman, 1975; Rosenblatt, 1978.1983; Smith, 1985, 1988). Students use phonics and phonemes to decode the text.

I will take this opportunity to remind that simply looking at letters and ‘sounding them out’ does not always work. Many common words such as are, love, all, the, and water are difficult or impossible to ‘sound out’. Phonics alone does not help readers decode words, but when they are in a meaningful context, student can use all the resources in the text and all their strategies to read.

This leads me to thank all those parents who consistently read to their children, discuss the texts and have engaged in the school’s Loving Literature process. This is about reading to learn. It does make a difference. David Hornsby states ‘to function successfully in today’s society, we must be able to read and understand diverse texts – multimedia texts as well as traditional print texts. Because reading is a social practice, the texts must be authentic and they must serve real life purposes. Children will not grow into life long readers if they do not see the connections between reading and living, if they do not

understand the many riches that reading can bring to their lives’.

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Today's link is not to one particular online book, but rather to a whole library of books. The link below will take you to the International Children's Digital Children's Library. This will provide hours of reading enjoyment for you and your family over the holiday break. Lots of books in lots of different languages. Best wishes for the summer holidays, may yours be filled with lots of reading. Enjoy! http://en.childrenslibrary.org/

Thank you to Ms Connell for her year’s dedication to locating and selecting special texts for us to listen to, enjoy and discuss. Enjoy some fun, leisurely holiday reads.

School Captains’ Working breakfast – debriefing – feedback and feedforward regarding Farewell night

checking in regarding Celebration Ceremony

acknowledging the contributions of these fine upstanding citizens

Ms Connell with some of our Wynnum Warriors with 100% attendance for 2019 and Loving Literature Ambassadors

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HABIT OF MIND What is a habit? A bit is something you repeat and repeat, like saying ‘hello’ to the people you meet. Some habits are you; some habits are bad. Some make you happy; some make you sad. Habits are like a garden full of seeds. Some grow into flowers; others into weeds. Habits like exercising are good to do. Habits like smoking are bad for you. Some habits are noisy like cracking your toes. Some habits are gross like picking your nose. Once you have a habit it’s very hard to lose

So be careful of the ones you choose.

Go for the Habits of Mind – practising them for the purpose of growing the intelligences and the skills to be an active supportive citizen for today and tomorrow.

Happy Anniversary Wynnum Wahoos!

Preps showing off the

Sunflowers they grew

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PLAY PALS Congratulations and thank you to our team of Play Pals – senior students from Years 4-6, helping our younger students socialise and play safe.

Thank you to Mrs Sutton for your leadership and management of Play Pals LIBRARY BUZZ The last two weeks of a school year in the library space usually means the auditing of all resources both in the library and on loan across the whole school. It is an incredibly busy time and requires careful preplanning in order for a smooth operation. A stocktake is an important part of library management and allows library staff to not only identify missing resources but also keep the database updated and maintain an accurate record of all library resources. Libraries try many ways to encourage students to return their books each week and make students’ accountable for caring for books on loan. A student must make all efforts to search for these books and return so others can continue to borrow. As a reward for Homerooms this term, any class will no outstanding books as at the end of week 9 have received a 45 minute Library Pass for an exciting time of some serious cool activities and pursuits. Congratulations to our six Homeroom winners, PRML, P1BP, 1HH, 2VY, 3MR, 4HC and 6SB who have or will receive their ‘Grand Prize’ this week. Don’t forget, if you are decluttering your board game collection over the holidays and all the pieces are there and in good order, the library would be most keen to offer them a new home. Thank you magnificent Library team: Ms Sellars, Mrs Carlyle, Mrs Lakeman, Mrs Schrodter, Mrs Leys, Yirrmala, Ms Leather and our ICT gentlemen Mr Saker and Mr Stewart for a truly splendid year. Happy holiday reading everyone…Mrs Sutton PS Remember the Wynnum Library has a ‘Summer Holiday Program’ too. A big Wynnum Warrior thank you to Mrs Sutton!

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PREP BEACH DAY – Having fun together

Prep students, parents and staff enjoying the bay and sunny day! Exploring on the Wynnum foreshore

Thank you to the Prep students and staff for the yummy home made treats!

Enjoying our local environment

Oliver Moore showing

his Christmas wreath

Thank you to all the

parent helpers for a

special year

Kauri Wilson happy to

see Santa

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Year 6 Farewell Dinner – Students enjoying a fine dining experience

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Year 4-6 Swimming Carnival The Winning House was Kanni. Go Kanni!

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P&C NEWS STUDENT BANKING will recommence on 30 January 2020 and will be available every Thursday. For questions or queries about the P&C, come and see us or email wynnumss.pandc@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook // WSSPandC | WSSFriends WYNNUM WAHOOS Amateur Swim Club – Enquiries to John Stock, P&C Subcommittee Chair, via wynnumwahoos@gmail.com. MEGA-BITE – Snack pack service will continue to be offered Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with full menu on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays in 2020. Last day of trading for Cafeteria will be Thursday 12 December and re-open Tuesday 28 January 2020 for snack packs.

What a fantastic way to end the year with a Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family gathering and

sausage sizzle. Thank you to staff for your support. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New

Year.

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2020 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! We couldn’t run an event, fundraiser, cafeteria without the help of our volunteers. We want to provide the best service for our students and families, so if you could spare an hour at least, we would LOVE your help in the cafeteria. So catch up with Julie our cafeteria convenor, she won’t say no to more volunteers. UNIFORM SHOP – Open every Tuesday 8:30am-9:30am and Thursday 2:30pm-3:30pm with payment facilities including cash, cheque, EFTPOS, lay-by or direct deposit into P&C account. Order online 24/7 – visit www.flexischools.com.au, enter ‘Wynnum State School’, follow the prompts. Julie Taylor, P&C Operations Manager (MEGA-BITE & Uniform Shop) on 0449 804 427.

HOLIDAY TRADING – The uniform shop will be opening during the school holidays. If you are able to

provide much needed help on these busy days, even for a couple of hours, please contact Julie Taylor.

Thursday 23 January 9:00am to 3:00pm

Friday 24 January 9:00am to 3:00pm.

The Uniform Shop will be open on the first day of school for 2020, Tuesday 28 January, 8:30am-9:30am.

SCHOOL CALENDAR 2019

DECEMBER

12 Celebration Ceremony 9:00am Start

13 End of Term 4

2020

JANUARY

28 First day term 1

FEBURARY

7 Musical Performance QLD police pipes and drums

24 Year 6 National Young Leaders day

27 School Photos

28 School Photos

MARCH

23 - 25 Year 5 Emu Gully Camp ( approximate cost $273)

25-27 Year 4 Camp – APEX Queensland Youth Camp, Twin Waters (approximate cost $274)

31 Year 6 Camp Goodenough ( approximate cost $385)

APRIL

1-3 Year 6 Camp Goodenough ( approximate cost $385)

SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE QSCHOOLS APP! School newsletters are available electronically. The

Qschools app is free to download via the Apple iTunes, Google Play and Windows stores. Qschools allows

you to subscribe, search and ‘favourite’ multiple schools. You can access latest school news, calendar events,

newsletters, annual reports and documents. Our school sends ‘push notifications’ to advise or remind our

school community about upcoming events. To receive automatic updates enable QSchools push notifications

in your phone settings.

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DISPLAY of CHRISTMAS TREES

& Nativity Scenes Monday 16 December until Saturday 21 December.

Open daily

10am to 2pm & 6pm to 8pm.

Anglican Church, Charlotte Street, Wynnum

Trees decorated by schools, community & church groups

Entry is FREE

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