2 November 2018

Newsletter Articles

Message from the Principal

We are four weeks into the term and we are continuing to see great gains being made in all areas of student learning. Please encourage your child to try their best in every activity that they are a part of. I have high expectations of all students in all areas of their schooling and I trust the remainder of Term 4 will be rewarding for them as they always give their best.

I would like to congratulate many of our students who have given their very best across a range of recent events and activities. At our assemblies we have recognised students who received Distinction (Top 10%) and High Distinction (Top 1%) in ICAS Mathematics, competitors in both State Athletics and Rotary Public Speaking and the STEAM club who received Highly Commended in the Brisbane City Council’s Greener Suburbs awards.

I am pleased to announce that in 2019 we will welcome four new teachers to Gumdale: Holly Davies from Wondall Heights State School, Renee Skelly from Moura State School, Megan Smith from Burrowes State School and Emily White from Barkly Highway State School.

Always our Best,

Phil Savill, Principal
Gumdale State School

Important Dates

Always our Best

Reminders from the School

2019 Enrolments

To assist us in planning for next year, we would like to know your plans for 2019. If your child will transition to another school for the start of 2019, please assist us by completing the form below. Completed forms are to be returned to Marissa Bowen at School Administration or via email: mbowe79@eq.edu.au

A reminder to existing Gumdale State School families or prospective families in our catchment area looking to join in 2019: Please submit your enrolment applications now. All enrolment paperwork can be downloaded from our school website. If you have a question regarding how to enrol, please contact the school office on 3902 8333.

Messages from the Deputies

Pupil Free Day

On Monday 22 October, teachers participated in a range of professional learning opportunities to further develop understanding in the area of Critical and Creative Thinking. A whole school approach to thinking routines was explored and a range of workshops were on offer for staff in the areas of literacy, digital technologies, writing, engagement and trauma awareness.

Band Performance

We were tremendously proud of our Beginners and Senior Band who played at a very large community event- the Manly Halloween Street Party. The students involved practiced for many weeks in preparation for their performance. Many thanks to Ms Vivienne Thomas, our instrumental teacher, for her work with our school bands.

Working Together Safely

In the classroom we use encouraging language to motivate others to do their best. We treat others how we want to be treated. This includes listening to others’ ideas, opinions and including others in games and activities. In the playground we pick up our litter, remain seated during eating times and get along with others.

Prep & Year 1 News

Australia Post Visit

Our preps are very busily exploring how to write letters in the old fashioned snail mail way. Last week they had a visit from Postie Nicole who brought both her motorbike and her pushbike to show the students. She spoke about how mail was processed and delivered.

Inspired by her visit, the preps have been writing thank you letters to Nicole. They have also set up post offices in their classrooms with mail systems for writing to friends.

Year 2 & 3 News

I would like to thank the whole school community for the warm welcome I have received at Gumdale. I would like to extend a special thank you to Mr Andrew Ward for stepping in as Deputy of Year 2 and 3 for the first two weeks of term.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my first two weeks here at Gumdale, where I have spent a generous amount of time in classrooms getting to know the students. Many of the students have shared writing samples and have enthusiastically wanted to demonstrate their reading abilities and goals. During each and every one of these interactions I see the students demonstrating the school motto of ‘Always Our Best’ and the students and staff should be extremely proud of what they are achieving each day.

Ms Sarah Scott
Deputy Principal Year 2 and Year 3

Year 2 Poetry

In English, the Year 2 students are currently delving into a Poetry unit, where they are working towards the final product of creating and presenting an imaginative reconstruction of a known poem. One feature of poetry are alliterations. I thought we would share some of the wonderful examples of how much fun you can have with poetry.

Tom teaches teddies to talk and tries to make trampolines – by Enid 2M
Tom trotted tonight to get a telephone – by Aiden 2M
Penelope practises riding ponies while pouncing and prancing – by Cheyanne 2M

Year 3 Persuasive Writing

In English, the Year 3 students were asked to write a letter to the Year 3 cohort to persuade them to support community action regarding an important environmental issue. Below is a snapshot of the high standard of work our students are producing.

Presently, I think that we must stop plastic pollution because over 800 animal species are being negatively affected. Plastics affect marine life by fish swimming in and not being able to get out. So we should participate in organising a beach or river clean up because our environment must be saved. We should also avoid products containing microbeads and use your own reusable drink bottle instead of a non-reusable bottle. We must prevent water and plastic pollution because it also affects our drinking water. We can stop this by saying no to plastic bags at the supermarket and avoid the cold isle, because that often leads to needing plastic. – By Lachlan 3M

Firstly, plastics which are full of powerful toxins are polluting giant parts of the ocean. We ultimately need to stop polluting the ocean imminently! Plastic is killing oceans and ecosystems, we need to stop now. What if there is so much plastic in the ocean that we can’t even see it! We need to stop polluting the water for the ocean’s sake! Will you stop polluting the ocean? – By Reece 3M

Industrial causes are also a big part of water pollution. Asbestos is a cancer causing property when inhaled. Who would want that to happen? Lead and mercury are metallic elements that can cause huge environmental health problems. Not only that but nitrates and phosphates are found in fertilizers and are washed into nearby waterbodies. In addition to that they have a non-metallic substance that is harmful to marine life. All that put together is one big lot of water pollution. Don’t you think we ought to do something about it? - Maddy 3M

To start with, due to deforestation and pam oil plantations, orangutans are dying. Did you know that about a century ago there was more than 230,000 orangutans, but now there is sadly only 104,700. If the orangutans become extinct the co-existing animals will become extinct as well. You can save them by helping people plant more of these trees or support them at least. – By Bella 3D

We must stop destroying all the trees otherwise in less than one hundred years there will be no more rainforests left. Every hour over one hundred football fields of trees have been cut down. We must stop destroying all of the wonderful trees otherwise it will let carbon dioxide into the air. It’s vital! Fresh air is amazing! Did you know that one tree can absorb carbon dioxide from a car that has been driving for six thousand, four hundred and thirty seven kilometres? – By Paige 3I

How would you like it if your home was completely demolished and you lost everything you really loved? That is the same for those poor animals that live in trees when we cut them down. Orangutans, birds, monkeys and Sumatran tigers are suffering and becoming endangered because we are destroying their habitat and destroying the environment too. – Roman 3I

Year 4 - 6 News

Student Leadership

Last week our Year 5 students attended an information session on student leadership. Our current student leaders presented information on their roles and responsibilities throughout the year. Application forms for leadership positions in 2019 were distributed to interested students. All applications are due this Friday 2 November.

Rotary Public Speaking Competition

Last Wednesday Year 6 students Agam S, Kaitlyn B and Danielle H competed in the semi-finals of the Wynnum and Manly Rotary Public Speaking Competition. The girls did a wonderful job presenting their speeches and Danielle H progressed to the finals on Friday. Good-luck Danielle!

Rotary Public Speaking Competition

Women in Sport Break

On Wednesday 24 October, 25 Gumdale State School students and 7 staff members attended the Women in Sport breakfast for ACHPER QLD at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. Along with over 500 students and teachers from other Queensland schools, students were able to hear from current Women Sporting stars about their triumphs and hardships that come with being at the top of their sport.

The inspirational morning was topped off with Gumdale State School being awarded the ACHPER Women in Sport Motivational Message Video competition. This is the second year in a row that Gumdale State School have won a video award thanks to the work of Ms Goddard and the very active girls at Gumdale.

The girls left very inspired and were ecstatic to be able to take a picture with super stars Rosie Malone (Hockey) and Ali Brigginshaw (AFL).

News from the Payment Desk

Statements have been emailed this week, please ensure you check these and make payments as your earliest convenience.

Office Procedure for Payment of Excursions

Three weeks after an excursion has taken place One School will produce a Credit Adjustment for those students who have not paid. This is a system generated document which will clear your students account for this excursion. If your student attended and payment has not been received, you will be emailed a new invoice for this particular excursion.

Please ensure you advise the office and teacher if your child will not be attending the excursion, this will save you receiving another invoice.

Prompt payment is of invoices will also ensure that additional invoices are not emailed to you, payment due dates are stated on the excursion letter which you receive the day before you are invoiced.

As a reminder, here is a list of upcoming events / payments that might be relevant to your family:

Paying your school invoices

All excursions and events require payment and a permission form to be returned by the due date or your child will not be permitted to attend.

Please note that payments can be made one of four ways:

1. Online using the BPOINT Payment Gateway https://www.bpoint.com.au/payments/dete or from the invoice using the BPOINT link
2. Phone banking via BPOINT IVR (1300 631 073)
3. Online using the QParent App or
4. In person at our Administration Office during office hours (8.00am-3.30pm)

STEAM News

Sustainability @ Gumdale

The STEAM Club received a ‘Highly Commended’ Award in the Clean Schools category at the Brisbane City Council’s 2018 Cleaner Suburbs Awards. The Awards Ceremony was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and be inspired by other finalists from across Brisbane.

Students are doing a great job of choosing the correct bin to put their lunch waste in! Our compost tumblers are filling fast and our worms are fattening up creating perfect fertilizer for our edible gardens. All eating areas have 3 bin options and we have 8 classes across the school as our Sustainability Rangers looking after our Organics waste. Thank you Prep D, 1N, 2M, 2S, 3M, 4S, 5M & 6M.

Let’s work together in making Gumdale State School more sustainable!

STEAM Clubs

Kitchen Garden

Our new bed outside the STEAM room is thriving with students now busily making trellises for our climbing plants. The sunflowers have bloomed and our native bees are feasting. If you look closely you can see the bright yellow balls of pollen on their back legs. Members enjoyed making potato gnocchi in preparation for our end of year feast.

Thank you to the Wynnum Manly Men’s Shed who have volunteered to build a bath tub worm farm! Donations of plastic lids (not metal), mulch, and soil for the garden are appreciated and can be dropped to the STEAM Centre.

Volunteers Needed! We have a small building project requiring tools, skills and time. We would love a garden waste compost bin to be made from second hand pallets. We have the pallets and design ideas.

Please contact Amanda Sheppard if you can help in any way.

Year 1 & 2 Coding

We meet every Thursday 11.15-11.40 in the STEAM room for coding fun!

New members are always welcome!

Other exciting events

Year 5 & 6 students thoroughly enjoyed their afternoon with STEM Professional Guest presenter Samuel Hinton, Astrophysicist and Survivor contestant.

Sports News

Sailing

The 2018 sailing program has concluded this week. Congratulations to all of the students who participated and especially those who achieved a “Tackers” certificate this year.

I look forward to Gumdale State School continuing our strong relationship with the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in 2019.

State Athletics Carnival

Congratulations to Matty D and Summer M who participated at the State Athletics Carnival in Cairns recently. Matty finished 17th fastest in the state for 200m and Summer finished 16th in the tetrathlon. A fantastic effort by both students!

Swimming Lessons

Students have settled in well to their swimming lessons conducted by Aquatic Achievers. All students have now been assessed and placed into an appropriate group. Groups are continually adjusted throughout the program as students develop and improve their swimming technique.

Year 1 Sport Aerobics Program

Ms Goddard will be running a Year 1 Sport Aerobics Program for girls and boys in November. The program will run on Fridays in Hollis Hall from 11:15 – 11:45am. Please come the hall after eating. Dates are 2, 9, 23 and 30 November. Please contact Ms Goddard for more information.

Sailing Donations Needed

We require donations of reef shoes, sun shirts, wide brimmed hats and board shorts for our Sailing program. New or good condition items can be left in the labelled box which is located in the hallway outside the PE room in Hollis Hall. Thank you in advance!

2018 Camps

This year there will be a change to our Year 4-6 Camp structure. This will allow three different settings and experiences for students in our Senior School. The camps will be as follows:

Year 4 – Sunshine Coast Recreation Centre, Currimundi (5-7 December 2018)
Year 5 – Emu Gully Leadership Camp, Helidon (21-23 November 2018)
Year 6 – Sydney and Canberra (21-25 July 2019)

Any questions - James Doherty jpdoh0@eq.edu.au

Keep moving!

Community Support

Emotional Intelligence by Wilson McCaskill

Wilson McCaskill is the founder/director of Play is the Way and the author of numerous resources in the use of physically interactive games for the development of positive social behaviour. Here he writes about the importance of making social skills an integral part of daily life at both home and school.

THE FIVE SKILLS OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE:

1. Self-awareness
2. Self-control
3. Self-motivation
4. Empathy (awareness of others)
5. Managing relationships

Making social skilling (which entails the understanding and control of behaviour) a key focus of home and school life can only assist every other area of a child’s development. Developing the skills of critical thinking will help children to analyse and understand their own behaviour and that of their peers. Verbal reasoning is essential if children are to be able to explain their actions and feelings. Developing literacy skills allows children to write down and reflect upon their own experiences.

All of this takes time and we must give it the time it needs in both home and school. We cannot leave the learning of emotional intelligence and social competency to chance. We’re not going to get very far if we only tackle it when our children do something wrong, or offer advice only when conflict or crisis occurs, nor will speeches at assembly about the value of good behaviour, or catch phrases stuck up on walls and fridge doors give us the results we need.

We need to make emotional intelligence an integral part of the curriculum and home life. It takes time to develop these skills and children learn them mainly through small but important lessons over many years. If we want children of good character we must immerse them in schools, homes and communities where the lessons about emotions and behaviour are repeated many times. Repeated until they become absorbed deeply into the makeup of each and every child.

Once there, these important understanding will keep our children safe in times of crisis, conflict, confusion and pain. They will kick in to guide our children’s action, words and thoughts in a way that is considerate of themselves and others.

If you would like further information on fostering emotional intelligence, take a look at some of these sites:

Gumdale Gives

This Christmas season we are once again supporting Micah Projects and GIVIT who assist those less fortunate than us within our community. Monday 12 – Friday 16 November (Week 6), we will be calling for donations of food items for Micah’s Annual Christmas Food Hamper Appeal. Then on Friday 30 November (Week 9), we will be collecting brand new, unwrapped toys for GIVIT to donate to children living in care. Please see flyers below for more information.

2019 Japanese Study Tour

Next year, Gumdale State School will again be hosting a Study Tour group from Japan. From 22 February to 5 March, we will have 18 students from Tama Uni Meguro JHS in Tokyo visiting our school. Students will have a Year 6 buddy and will participate in English lessons, as well as experience classroom life here at Gumdale. The tour organisers are looking for Host Families for students. Please see information below if you are interested. Application forms are available at the office.

Music Notes

Upcoming Events

We are excited to announce our annual performance night concert will be held on Monday 12 November at the Star Theatre, Wynnum State High School. This year we will be splitting the concert into two parts for Choir and Band with an interval:

More information has been emailed home so please save the date in your diaries and we look forward to seeing you there! If you are interested in volunteering to help on the night, please email us to let us know.

Sunday 11 November, 7:40pm

Don’t Stop the Music is a new documentary from Artemis Media, highlighting the transformative effects of teaching music in primary schools. Be sure to tune in to the ABC and watch this landmark Australian series.

Choir

Please take note of the following performance for the Gumnuts Choir. A reminder that full performance uniform is required for these performances. You are most welcome to attend the assembly to watch your child’s performance, hope to see you there.

Instrumental

Congratulations to the Senior Concert Band and the Beginner Concert Band members on their ‘Spooktacular’ performance at Saturday’s Manly Halloween Festival. Our Bands performed on the School’s Band Stage and really outdid themselves in their performances, working fantastically well as a team. Well done, you looked very scary and sounded great!

From the Music Department,

OSHC

Messages from the Team

2019 Enrolments are new OPEN! Please enrol or re-enrol your children as soon as possible to guarantee a place at YMCA Gumdale OSHC. We have big plans in store for next year and hope to have your children on board. If you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us!

What is New at YMCA Gumdale OSHC?

We have a new kitchen! In April we received a grant to put in a new kitchen and this has now officially been installed. We are very excited! The new kitchen is now more functional and comes with the addition of a new dishwasher, fridge and washing machine.

Activities and Projects

We have our Family BBQ on Friday 2 November at 4.30pm. The P&C will be selling drinks and we will be providing some yummy food. This is a great opportunity for parents to mingle with the staff and get to know more about the people taking care of their children. If you are interested in sending your children to YMCA Gumdale OSHC, this is a great opportunity to come meet the staff and see the service.

Kindy Transition

We are hosting some Kindy children at OSHC over the next few weeks, to help them transition into Prep next year. We cannot wait to play some fun games and run some cool activities with them. We are planning for a smooth transition for our Kindy kids into Prep next year.

Contact YMCA OSHC Gumdale
Phone: 07 3890 2675
Mobile: 0428 333 317
agd@ymca.org.au

Community Business Network

Gumdale State School is pleased to have the support of businesses in our local and nearby community by way of sponsorship. Each year, our school resources are enriched courtesy of members in our Community Business Network.

More details regarding our program and the packages available can be found on our school website or by contacting Marissa Bowen, Executive Assistant.

Phone: 3902 8333 Mail: mbowe79@eq.edu.au

In 2018, our Platinum and Gold Sponsors are:

Platinum Sponsors

Todd Gerhardt Realty goes above and beyond for his clients. Todd has broken countless street records, priding himself on getting the best possible price for his vendors. Todd Gerhardt is considered a real sellers agent, but he is equally devoted to his buyers and he knows how to close the deal leaving both parties more than satisfied (which in today's market cannot always be the case).

Todd leaves no stone unturned in the search for the right buyer for your home. It is Todd's mission to offer the best real estate experience you can get.

The YMCA provide services to more than 700,000 participants annually. Such services include youth programs, Long Day Child Care, Family Day Care, In Home Care, Outside School Hours Care, Vacation Care, Limited Hours Care, a large range of sport and recreational activities, health and fitness, outdoor education and camping, vocational education and accredited training, hospitality, restaurants and hotel accommodation.

Gold Sponsors

Ian lives in Wakerley and brings his background as a marketing consultant to achieve the best result for his clients. Ian has achieved numerous property records in the Bayside area. As a great supporter of Gumdale State School Ian currently serves as a community representative on the School Council.

In a climate such as Brisbane, air conditioning is a must. Whether you are air conditioning a room or a whole home, the team at NYE Industries are experts in our Trade. We can install split systems, ducted or multi-head air conditioning systems that will enhance your lifestyle whilst adding value to your home. We are a family owned and operated company operating in the Redlands area for over 10 years. Our expert technician will walk you through the process of air conditioning your home and inform you of the calculations required and the reasons behind our recommendations for your needs. Our exacting Quality Assurance processes ensure your project is completed to our high standards. Call today for an obligation free quote and discover the difference of a professional, specialised air conditioning company! We pride ourselves on total client satisfaction. Many of our happy customers cannot be wrong!

P&C News

Thank You

To our long time Uniform Shop volunteer Shannon Neudecker we would like to say a huge thank you for your volunteering efforts. We have been incredibly lucky to have had you providing wonderful customer service to our school community and you will be missed.

Tuckshop Volunteers

The Tuckshop Convenors of our newly-named Gumtree Eatery do a great job each week providing a wide variety of healthy, nutritious food to our students. They are in need of some extra hands on an ongoing basis, particularly on Thursdays and Fridays.

By having regular volunteers in the Tuckshop we are able to continue our wide offering and also keep the menu pricing and operating costs low.

If you have some time available to help out, even as little as an hour, your help would be gratefully appreciated by our Tuckshop team. Volunteer slots begin at 8.45am each day and duties include labelling bags, preparing food, serving and cleaning.

We thank you for your assistance.

Online Ordering

The Tuckshop and Uniform Shop offer an online ordering service called Flexischools. Online ordering is convenient, provides you with 24/7 payment and ordering system that can be accessed from home, work or on a mobile device. You won't be fumbling around for coins in the morning or looking for a brown paper bag. You can also purchase uniform items when the shop's not open and our volunteers will deliver the items to your child's classroom. Flexischools registration is free and only takes a few minutes so get online at the link below:

Shaunesy Pegg
P&C President
pandc@gumdaless.eq.edu.au

Tuckshop News

Don’t forget all meal orders for the Tuckshop for first and second breaks must be ordered through Flexischools by 8:30am each day. Only snacks, drinks and slushies are sold over the counter for cash (except for Prep students) during first and second breaks.

Students who have made an order to purchase something frozen, or a plain milk cup or something with custard or yoghurt, will need to come to the Tuckshop to collect the item. A green smiley face or a red star on your bag means you must bring the bag to the Tuckshop to collect the item which can’t be sent to your classroom.

Contact

If you need to contact the tuckshop for any reason, please stop by and see us or contact us on the details below.

Carol Matheson
Tuckshop Convenor

Uniform Shop News

Lost property is located in boxes at School Admin or at the YMCA Gumdale. Please clearly label all items with a first name and surname, especially hats and jumpers. Items cannot be returned to students if the only label visible on the item is just a first name. If your child has lost any items, please regularly check the lost property boxes and remember it may take a few days for items to turn up in the boxes.

The Uniform Shop fire sale continues as we try to reduce over-stocked items. All marked down items are now available to order online through Flexischools. The items will also be available to purchase from the Uniform Shop when open and are only available while stocks lasts.

Uniform Shop Marked Down Items

Trackpants do not have a GSS logo so can be worn by other schools with same royal blue colour or just everyday wear. Tell your friends! We still have a large amount of excess Formal Shorts in sizes 4-10. Formal Shorts can be worn with the everyday polo or formal shirts, at $5.00 a pair, stock up for next year and even the year after.

Flexischools orders are delivered to teacher’s pigeon holes to avoid disruption to classes and the teacher will deliver any ordered items to your child. If you have not received your order, please check with your child’s teacher first. The Uniform Shop volunteers deliver items to the pigeon holes on Monday and Thursday after 9:30pm or you can pick items up from the Uniform Shop during Uniform Shop trading days and hours.

Don’t forget we are located on Level 1 of A Block so drop by and see our friendly volunteers when the shop is open.

Contact

Michelle Moffatt
Volunteer Uniform Shop Manager

Update from the Fundraising Team!

We are nearing the end of our fundraising calendar, with one final, exciting event left – the P&C ‘My Favourite Colour’ school disco.

The disco will be held on Friday, 16th November and will be run as follows:

Tickets will be available for pre-purchased from Trybooking from Monday 29 October, please look out for the link on our social media pages. Entry is $3.50 or Entry + Food (sausage or kebab) + a drink for $8.50.

Tickets will be available on the night at $5.00 and $10.00 for the options detailed above. Cash only.

Snacks, drinks and glow items will be available for sale on the evening.

Volunteering

The year may nearly be drawing to a close but it is not too late to volunteer your time. We will be looking for volunteers to help on the evening of the disco (and are always looking for volunteers for the Tuckshop) so if you would like to volunteer, please email fundraising@gumdalesspc.org.au and you will be notified via Signup Genius when the volunteer schedule is open.

Fundraising Programs

A reminder to support the following organisations if the need arises. For every purchase made, they kindly give back to our school.

To stay up to date with all the Fundraising Events, follow us on social media:

• Facebook at Gumdale State School Parents & Citizens
• Instagram at gumdale_ss_pandc
• Twitter at gumdaless_pandc
• Or contact us on fundraising@gumdalesspc.org.au

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