Term 4 Week 4 Newsletter 26 October 2022
From our Principal
We welcome Miss Darcie Lang to our school. We are excited to have her join our staff and know she will be a great asset to our teaching team.
Next week I am away from Wednesday-Friday in Rockhampton for a principal roadshow. In this time, we will be working on our annual implementation plan for 2024. Friday of next week will also see our teachers for year 3-6 in 2024 involved in Reading professional development.
The last 6 weeks will go very quickly. We have lots of events and activities on over the remainder of the term so please ensure you keep an eye on our Facebook, newsletters and emails.
Have a wonderful week.
Fiona
Attendance
Thank you for supporting us with attendance and making every day count. As we enter into the final stages of term 4, we need our children in school if they are well.
Planning for 2024
We are busy planning enrolments, facilities, resources and staffing for the 2024 school year. If you know you will not be with us next year could you let us know so we can factor this in our planning. If you know anyone considering Thangool for their child please get them to contact our office as all our staffing is based on day 8 numbers.
World Teacher's Day
Yesterday our teacher aides put on a beautiful luncheon to celebrate and recognise our wonderful teaching staff. Each and every day our teachers do the extra things that make a difference in the lives of students, families and school, so this Friday on World Teachers’ Day I want to say thank you! We are very fortunate to have hard working, caring and professional teachers who strive every day to provide a quality education for our students. We value all you do and thank you for making a difference and having a positive impact on our children’s lives
Day for Daniel
Friday is also Day for Daniel. Students are encouraged to wear red to raise awareness on the importance of child safety. On Friday children will be engaged in discussions and reminders and we encourage parents to also take this opportunity to touch base with their child around ways to stay safe.
Reminders
With the weather warming up please remember it is an expectation that children wear a hat (wide brimmed, no caps). Also, it is strongly recommended for children to continue to bring water bottles.
Capable Learner
HOC News
Australian Curriculum – Version 9
Last week, Mrs Byrne and I attended the QCCA professional development to understand the assessment and assessment design process to create quality tasks and marking guides for the new version 9 curriculum for English and Mathematics. This work continues from our earlier professional development which focussed on familiarising ourselves and our teaching staff with the structural and organisational elements of the curriculum.
Day for Daniel
Day for Daniel is Australia’s largest child safety education and awareness day. Its aim is to educate children and young people about how to stay safe in physical and online environments and to support young victims of crime. This year it will be held on Friday, 27th October and honours the memory of Daniel Morcombe who was last seen in 2003 waiting for a bus on his way to buy Christmas presents for his family.
This day provides us with us all (parents carers and educators) with an opportunity to start a conversation with children and young people about personal safety. If you require information or support to begin a conversation, resources are available on the Daniel Morcombe website. https://danielmorcombe.com.au/keeping-kids-safe-resources/ This week, teachers will be engaging in age-appropriate discussions about personal safety with their class.
SEL News - Social and Emotional Learning
SEL – Term 4
Year 4s – Communication and team work
This term our Year 4 students are working on communication and team building. Each lesson students are faced with a team challenge that allows students to practice how to share ideas and use strategies to solve problems. The activity is a vehicle for learning where students learn how to work through conflict and how to communicate more effectively as a team.
Year 5s – Leadership event organisation
Our Year 5s are eagerly working on planning their school event for this term. The purpose of the event is to help our Year 5 students practice their leadership skills with communicating, planning and organising an event for the school. This is a great way to help them learn how to use their strengths to support each other as they move into year 6. Watch the school Facebook page for more details in the coming weeks and how you can support their event.
Year 6s – what are our students wanting to know as they transition into high school?
Our year 6 program is heavily focused on transitioning to High School. Some of the topic’s students raised that are worrying them have been Friendships, fitting in and sense of belonging, peer pressure, healthy relationships and strategies to deal with conflict and people you don’t like.
You may notice some students feeling unsettled as they approach high school. This is very normal part of development and I have included some information below on Erikson’s Psychosocial development for this age group. During stage 5 (ages 12-18yrs) he refers to students searching for their sense of self and personal identity. Teenagers will explore who they are and may experiment with different roles, activities and behaviours.
- Peer Influence: Peer groups often become a significant influence during this stage. Adolescents often start to place more value on the opinions of their friends than their parents.
How an adolescent’s peer group perceives them can impact their sense of self and identity formation.
It is important that the adults in these students lives help guide them through this very normal stage. I have provided the link below if you would like to read further information.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/erik-erikson.html
Project Club News
Our last Meal Deal for 2023 will be held on Wednesday 1st November 2023. Orders close on Tuesday 31st October 2023.
Book Fair - 6th - 10th November 2023
Our School will be holding a Book Fair during Week 6 (6th-10th November 2023). Students can view and purchase books before school (8.15am-8.35am), during lunch breaks and after school (3.00-3.20pm). There will be a special Parent viewing session on Wednesday 8th November 2023 from 9.00-10.30am. Tea/Coffee and biscuits supplied. Gift wrapping is available to help keep purchases a surprise. All purchases help put new books into little hands across the school. Cash and card accepted. Thank you for your continued support.
Date Claimers
