Introducing our PBL Mascots: I am SAFE I am RESPECTFUL I ... · Prep-1 building which is scheduled for us to move in at the beginning of Semester Two. Unfortunately, as construction

Thursday, 21st February 2019

Introducing our PBL Mascots:

I am SAFE I am RESPECTFUL I am a LEARNER


A letter from the Principal…

New Building Works

No doubt you have noticed the rapid progress being made with our new Prep-1 building which is scheduled for us to move in at the beginning of Semester Two. Unfortunately, as construction approaches completion the builders have advised that there are hall closures necessary for workplace health and safety precautions, which will affect the foyer and entrance where the toilets are located.

Where necessary, assemblies and other events will be cancelled. Our planned Harmony/Anti-bullying Day Celebrations on the 22nd March may also need to be scaled back – more information on this will be in the next newsletter. Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience – I’m sure that once the lovely new facilities come online it will all have been well-worth it!

Every Day Counts!

At Goodna State School learning commences each day at 8.30am sharp. Please ensure that children arrive at school, on time, every day for learning. Birthdays, sleeping in and going shopping are not good reasons for missing a day of school.

Wear your uniform with pride!

The student dress code is clear at Goodna State School, is approved by our P&C and is in line with uniform expectations at our local High Schools.

We wear our school uniform with pride – our school shirt, black shorts and ourschool hat.

We are neat and tidy at all times and our hair is well groomed and in a stylesuitable for school.

We remember not to have tracks, Mohawks, rat’s tails or hair colour in our hair.

We wear our wide-brimmed hat for out of class activities to keep us safe fromthe sun.

We always wear safe, closed in shoes to school.

We only wear simple jewellery to school – up to 2 plain sleepers or studs,wristwatch, plain signet ring and medical identification if needed.

We leave our faces clear of makeup.

Yours in quality education,

Lee Gerchow

chomp

tear

grind

ANIMALS have been biting,

ripping and grinding food for

millions of years. We know this to

be the case because there is

overwhelming evidence to

support this claim.

Year 1 students have been

studying the observable features

of dinosaurs, including their teeth,

to better understand how these

creatures lived in their habitats.

Science is a process - a way of

understanding the world.

Elham from Year 1F examines the link between

ancient and modern teeth.

Part of this investigation has involved the children biting pieces from an apple and

then grinding this food mass to observe which teeth are used to begin the digestion

process. Humans have incisors (biting), canines (ripping) and molars (chewing).

Hadrosaur had only small molars for grinding soft vegetation whilst Tyrannosaurus

rex had all canine teeth for tearing and then swallowing chunks of meat.

Story and photograph by Gerard Salmon

Thursday, 21st February 2019,



Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) in 2019

Goodna State School is a Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) School. As part of PBL, we have implemented various initiatives and strategies to help ensure that all students are safe, engaged, happy learners.

1. We have 3 major school expectations: Be Safe; Be Respectful; Be a Learner.

2. At GSS, we value PEACE: Perseverance,Empathy, Acceptance, Courage, Enthusiasm

3. We have a PBL Behaviour Matrix and a Responsible Behaviour Plan. Eachweek, classes discuss school rules and procedures and learn about the weekly PBL lesson and focus.

This week’s focus is to: Keep hands and feet to yourself.

4. All classes are introduced to the Behaviour Rocket and Zones of Regulation:

5. Students are referred through case management meetings to various pro-active programs to support engagement during both class time and play time.

6. We have a Learning Engagement Officer, Mr Parkes. His role is to liaise withall year levels, class teachers, the behaviour team, our Head of Curriculum and the leadership team to support the learning and engagement of specific students.

7. Our five Learning Assets help to teach important skills and assist students tohave an inquiry mindset. These learning assets link to the curriculum: Communication; Collaboration; Self-Management; Research; Thinking


8. Our Very Impressive Performance (VIP) reward system is designed toacknowledge students who are doing an excellent job both in the classroomand in the playground, as well as increase the level of positive reinforcement inthe school. Students can achieve the following levels throughout the semester,each linked to a different reward

9. Our Student in the Spotlight is a weekly opportunity for each class to chooseone person to be spotlighted for a positive reason (e.g. excellent classwork,sustained effort, extracurricular commitment, good behaviour). Each week, allspotlighted students will attend a Principal’s afternoon tea on a Thursday inthe staffroom.

10. A high level of attendance and classroom engagement is expected at all times.Students should be ‘in class, on time, every day’. Attendance data iscollected in classes daily (3,2,1 points system) and goals for individualsmay be set. Additionally, each MONDAY, all students who are in class ready tolearn in the morning receives a raffle ticket. Tickets are sent to the office andrandomly drawn for student prizes.

Playgrounds after school

Please note that all playgrounds are out of bounds after school and are not to be used by students, even with parent supervision. Additionally, students are not to be playing any games in the school grounds after school.

Thanks for your ongoing support!

Daniel Dempsey

(Deputy Principal: Yr. 4-6)

No. of tokens MILESTONE

5 VIP CARD + End of term reward day

15 BRONZE award

30 SILVER award

50 GOLD award

80 PRINCIPAL’S AWARD + Principal’s party

120 VIP HERO AWARD

There are still students at school well after 2.30pm.

Parents and Caregivers are reminded that the school day finishes at 2.30pm.

Students need to be collected promptly by this time, as there is no adult supervision and staff quite often have personal commitments they need to attend to.

Students arriving before 8.00am need to remain in the Year 1 and 2 undercover area. There is no adult

supervision at this time so we urge students to act safely and quietly.


What do GOOD readers DO?

Being a good reader is an important part of being a lifelong learner.

Good readers have a purpose for reading. The reasons may range from looking for information (menus, instructions, maps), to finding a relaxing way to spend a rainy afternoon.

Good readers think about what they already know. Readers can increase their comprehension by making connections between what is read and their prior knowledge.

Good readers make sure they understand what they read. Retelling or summarising what is read is an excellent way to check one’s comprehension. Good readers predict what will happen next. Allowing your child to orally share and validate their predictions allows ideas to be checked and expanded upon.

Good readers form pictures in their minds. Forming pictures ensures the child stays focused on the reading and allows questions to form in order to check comprehension.

Good readers make conclusions about what they have read. Questioning, visualising and drawing about what they have read will increase understandings and allow your child to make logical conclusions.

Good readers try to figure out new words. Unfamiliar words can present an obstacle. Encourage your child to break words into parts; think of words that are similar; consider the word’s context; use pictures or illustrations to confirm meanings; and when all else fails use a dictionary.

Good readers practice. No one will ever become a strong reader without practice.

Prep parents – please stay tuned for some reading presentations happening soon at prep

Happy reading!

Tracy McKay (Deputy Principal: Years 1-3)


Why failure is important – Failure is a stepping stone

1. Experience - The first important lessongained from failure is experience. What happens when we fail? When we go through something and can walk away with firsthand experience, it helps us to develop a deeper understanding for life.

2. Knowledge - Failure brings with itimportant firsthand knowledge. That knowledge can be harnessed in the future to overcome that very failure that inflicted so much pain in the first place. Nothing can replace the knowledge gained from failure

3. Resilience - Failing in life helps to build resilience. The more we fail, the moreresilient we become.

4. Growth - When we fail, we grow and mature as human beings. We reachdeeper meanings and understandings about our lives and why we’re doing the things that we’re doing. This helps us to reflect and take things into perspective, developing meaning from painful situations.

There are many famous people who have failed the first, second, third and fourth times – these include

Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Serena Williams and Lady Ga Ga – just to name a few.


Oral language

A huge thankyou to our speech therapists – Gill and Heidi - for presenting a session on oral language strategies to our prep parents

Oral language –is the foundation for all literacy skills and it is crucial to students’ learning. Language is important for the “3 L’s” – Literacy, Learning and Life. Oral language lays the foundation for the reading and writing skills children will develop as they enter and progress through school. They will use oral language in all aspects of their education, in the classroom as they connect with their peers and teachers and throughout their lives as they grow into adulthood. You can encourage oral language development at home by

Encourage conversation. ...

Model syntactic structure. ...

Maintain eye contact. ...

Remind students to speak loudly and articulate clearly. …

Attend to listening skills. ...

Incorporate a “question of the day.” .

While much of their verbal communication develops naturally, children need opportunities to practice talking in order to develop their understanding of spoken language. The home environment is the ideal place to improve oral language through activities that expand vocabulary and support the use of spoken words.

Activities that you can do at home to support oral language include -

Role play activities Talking together Simulations. ... Sing nursery rhymes / sing songs Talk about your child’s drawings Encourage talking about the past – e.g. what happened on the weekend Read street signs / read menus / Tv guides etc Play I spy Naming and describing objects around the room Sharing opinions about stories or television shows Brainstorming ideas Storytelling. ... Interviews. ... Story completions...

BREAKFAST CLUB

Monday to Friday from 8am in the cooking room.

Free for students of Goodna State School. Proudly sponsored by Goodna RSL Services

Club


Supporting your child’s reading As a parent or caregiver, you can play a very important role in supporting your child’s reading skills. There are three steps you can use when supporting your child’s read-ing. These are:

Before Reading Chat with your child about what book to read together Introduce the book – chat about what the book is about when you see the title and pictures

During Reading Read the book together. Take turns giving tricky words a go. Practice sounding out and blending skills. If your child is a beginning reader you can be the reader. Ask questions about what is happening in the book. For example: “Why did Tommy run outside? How is he feeling? What do you think will happen next?”

After Reading Talk about the book together – what did you like or dislike? Is this book like any other books you have read? Did you learn anything interesting from this book? Modelling reading skills and how to approach a new book helps children recognise the value of reading.

For further advice / ideas on how you can help your child’s learning and language development please contact the school.

Gill Lovie & Heidi Yau (Speech-Language Pathologists) Acknowledgements: The Reading Centre, Department of Education

MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS NEWS Glorious Goodna continues to get its Groove On in 2019! All class music programs are up and running. The choir has started off the year with an increase in numbers, as has the dance troupe. Our Pacifica and African Drumming Groups are also underway. Many of these groups will be creating videos to be shared as part of Harmony Day celebrations.

I would encourage parents/guardians to discuss with their youngsters the benefits of joining these types of programs. We still have many talented students who are not involved in any of these programs, who could showcase their abilities, and at the same time further develop their skills.

We now have a new instrumental teacher, Mr Cason Mac Kenzie, who has recently joined our team. His classes will be on Friday mornings. Mr Mac Kenzie is really enthusiastic, and has great plans for the band program. However, unfortunately due to construction adjacent to the hall, the instrumental music program will not commence until term 2. It is also worth noting, that we have many more students interested in this program than we have places. We will have to be sure those chosen to participate are going to commit themselves to the program long term.

If you have any queries or concerns regarding any of our music/arts program please don’t hesitate to email me on [email protected]. If it is a program I do not conduct myself, I can direct you to the appropriate staff member.

Mrs. Wendy Wood (Classroom Music Teacher)


Solving Problems with Computational Thinking

During Week 7 of Term 1, fifty Year 4 and 6 students will participate in the biannual Bebras Challenge.

The Bebras challenge is a computational thinking challenge supported by the Aus-tralian Government and facilitated by CSIRO and Digital Careers. It has also been aligned with the Digital Technologies curriculum, which all students at Goodna State School are currently accessing as part of their learning.

The challenge consists of a set of short questions called Bebras tasks. The tasks can be answered without prior knowledge about computational thinking, but are clearly related to computational thinking concepts (often found in computer sci-ence).

The aim of the challenge is to raise general interest in computer science and for young people to understand that computational thinking has wide applications in solving all sorts of problems that might be met in life. In each age group, there are 15 tasks to be solved.

Last year over 100 year 3 to 6 GSS students enjoyed the challenges with tremen-dous results.




Meet Our OSHC Team

The Educators managing the Outside School Hours Care at Goodna State School are passion-

ate and make sure they always provide a wide range of activities that engage all children each

and every day at before and after school care.

They thoroughly enjoy what they do and take their roles very seriously. Robyn Winch is one such

member of our team. Robyn is the Program Coordinator and has been working with Goodna

State School for 5 years since February 2014. Robyn also works at Goodna State School as a

Teacher Aide.

Robyn is an experienced and qualified Educator with expertise in working with children in OSHC.

As part of Robyn’s role as an Educator with Camp Australia, she has completed compulsory

training in Active Supervision (VSHAPE), Child Protection and Camp Australia policies and pro-

cedures to ensure the service is safe and engaging for all children in their care.

Between the hours of 6:30-8:30am and 2:15-6:00pm, Robyn can be seen chatting with the chil-

dren who attend OSHC. Her favourite game or activity is losing to the kids at board games.

If you haven’t met Robyn please feel free to pop in and visit our before or after school care pro-

gram.

Register and Book Now

To register and book your child in our program, visit www.campaustralia.com.au and use the

school finder on our homepage to search for Goodna State School. To secure your child’s spot,

we always recommend making your bookings in advance.

We look forward to seeing you and your family soon!

From the Team at Camp Australia


Documents

Introducing our PBL Mascots: I am SAFE I am RESPECTFUL I ... · Prep-1 building which is scheduled for us to move in at the beginning of Semester Two. Unfortunately, as construction