6 September 2019

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

We are nearing the finish line of Term 3 and what a busy couple of weeks we have had. Our students have been working hard and have also enjoyed many incursions and excursions which serve to support their learning in the classroom. As usual, our expectations are that students continue the high standard of work right until the end of the term.

This week NAPLAN results were published. This was the first year NAPLAN has been completed online. I am very pleased with our upward trajectory and improved ranking, particularly in the area of writing. It is no secret that reading and its relationship to quality writing have been a focus at Gumdale, and the outcomes of this target are evident.

Best of luck to teams competing in the Primary Netball Cup in Maroochydore next weekend and to our Sport Aerobics students who are competing at Ormiston College on Saturday 14 September. It’s wonderful seeing our students staying active through sport.

Always our Best,

Phil Savill, Principal
Gumdale State School

What’s Coming Up

Always our Best

Reminders from the School

Your Child’s 2020 Enrolment Status

To assist us in planning for next year, we would like to know your plans for 2020. If your child will transition to another school for the start of 2020, please assist us by completing the form below.

Completed forms are to be returned to Marissa Bowen at the front office or via email: mbowe79@eq.edu.au

QParents

Pay multiple invoices easily with QParents! Invoices can be viewed and paid in bulk, rather than making individual payments. In addition, any outstanding amount can be viewed and paid.

If you haven’t yet registered for QParents, register now. You can provide your 100 points of identity documents for registration online through QParents, or in person at the school. If you have limited identity documents, or experience difficulties registering, please contact info@gumdaless.eq.edu.au for help.

QParents is a great way to stay informed about what’s happening in your child’s school life.

News from the Payment Desk

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 student’s 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 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.

Paying your school invoices

All excursions and events require payment and a permission form to be returned by the due date.

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

1. Using the QParents App.
2. Using the BPOINT Payment Gateway https://www.bpoint.com.au/payments/dete or from the invoice using the BPOINT link.
3. In person at our Administration Office during office hours (8:15am-3:30pm). No cash will be accepted.

Current Excursion Invoices

From the Deputies

Planning

Teachers have been released from class this week in year level teams to collaborate in the further development of English and HASS units of work for students next term. As we explore in detail the intent of the Australian National Curriculum, we continue to refine our understanding of what student need to know. The work undertaken by teachers during this time ensures the alignment of curriculum delivery between classes and across the school.

Digital Technology

Students in Years 3-6 are participating in robotics workshops with Damien Kee this fortnight. Building on our digital technology skills, students have been engaged with designing, coding and problem solving in groups to create amazing robots.

“I liked the engineering and mechanics need to make the Lego merry-go-round move. Once you have made the Lego you have to program it to spin using the laptop and drop and drag coding.” Riley (4C)

“I enjoyed the coding and it was good to be creative. It was good to work in a group and it was fun to see how everything worked. Using the coding we could see how to make the merry-go-round spin and move.” Ingrid (4C)

Book Week

The Book Week Parade held last week for Prep and Year 1 students was a hive of excitement! There were super heroes, wizards, princesses and dinosaurs. Everyone did such a fabulous job dressing up in creative ways. All students were invited to participate in fun Book Week activities at break times. Thank you to all staff who assisted in making this a great morning for all our students, in particular Ms Gooch.

Focus on the High 5

This week we have worked with students on continuing to use the High 5 in the classroom and playground. As we move into the last few weeks of term, students are asked to use these simple strategies for a strong finish to the term.

1. Ignore
2. Talk Friendly
3. Walk Away
4. Talk Firm
5. Report

NAPLAN

Congratulations to students and teachers for the wonderful results in all areas of NAPLAN this year. All Year 3 and 5 students showed their skills in reading, writing, numeracy, grammar, punctuation and spelling during the online testing period this year. Reports went home to parents earlier this week.

Weather

With the weather starting to warm up, parents are reminded that sun safety and hydration are a priority. When we are outside for lessons, and during playtimes at school, a hat is required. A drink bottle filled with water for use across the day is also recommended. Thank you for ensuring that all these belongings are named as we prepare for warmer weather!

Resource Centre

Scholastic Book Fair

Thank you to families who visited the Book Fair last week –it was Dino-Mite! Every resource sold benefits Gumdale State School, so we thank you! Orders will be delivered before the end of Term.

Parenting ‘Article Club’

As a parent it’s natural to want to step in and fix things for our children but is this actually helping them in the long run? Below is a snippet from an article written by Janet Lehman about doing too much for our children and the impact it can have. To read the full article, click here.

Are You Doing Too Much for Your Child?

By Janet Lehman, MSW

As parents, many of us do things for our kids that we were able and expected to do for ourselves when we were children. Our parents didn’t often feel the need to negotiate with our sports coach, solve our every problem, or entertain us in our free time. A big difference from today, when all too often we are over-involved in many areas of our children’s lives. Sounds funny, I know. How can a parent be too involved or do too much for their child? Isn’t that just being a good parent? But when we don’t expect our kids to take responsibility for chores or their behavior, and we attempt to smooth away all the bumps and bruises that are a natural part of childhood, we aren’t doing our kids a favor. Instead, we’re bringing them up to avoid taking personal responsibility and to expect that others will take care of things for them – even when they are really able to take care of themselves. We’re teaching our kids that life is full of unmanageable problems, when what we want them to learn are the basic skills to manage those problems. Stepping back and taking on the role of coach and teacher instead of “do-er” and “fixer” was one of the hardest things I had to do as a parent. But as my husband James Lehman said, it is also one of the best things you can do to help your child build their social and problem-solving skills and learn responsibility.

What Happens When We Over-Do for Our Children

• Your child learns the wrong lesson – how to avoid unpleasant tasks or challenges instead of facing them. By getting you to do things for them, your child learns to manipulate others instead of how to take responsibility for his or herself.
• Children begin to underestimate their abilities. If your son or daughter has never tried new or difficult things, they won’t know how to start or how to pick themselves up and try again. They’ll think they can’t do it.
• You will be exhausted and not have accomplished much in the long-run. Yes, the dishes may be done quickly and up to your standards, but what did your son learn? Yes, the laundry was done, but when your daughter goes off to a far-away college next year, who will do her laundry then?
• Protecting your child from life’s knocks comes at a cost. Children need to learn to manage setbacks, which they won’t if we always shelter them. As tempting as it is to be the one to negotiate with the coach for more playing time, what will your child do when they’re on a team where the coach expects direct communication from the players? How will your child learn to speak for him or herself?

Difficult Moments = Opportunities for Growth

Facing challenges are great opportunities for kids to grow and mature. Yes, it’s painful to observe our child going through difficult times. As parents, we want to make this stop. Our tendency is to want to jump in and fix things. But, this is when it’s most important that we step back and not step in. Take on the role of teacher and coach, supporting your child through the difficulty, while letting them discover their own capabilities. Remember, learning to manage obstacles in life makes us all stronger people. If we step in, we stop the learning process and run the risk of stunting our child’s growth. We prevent our child from developing the courage needed to try new things, even when it is hard or they might not succeed.

I see this as a “right” of growing up – to learn from our problems and become stronger, more capable people. If you take over and don’t allow your children to come up with their own solutions and discover their strengths, you may be preventing them from finding their path to resiliency. It’s the difficult twists and turns in life that often teach us the most about how strong we really are. These experiences and the learning that comes with them are essential to becoming responsible and capable adults.

Obviously, we can’t just let go completely as parents. We need to make sure that our children are safe and protected, and have the skills to manage the problems that come their way. This often takes planning on our part, along with awareness of how our child learns and what support they need. It also takes some trust in our child’s abilities to do more for his or herself – not always easy, I know.

STEAM News

Sustainability @ Gumdale

Let’s work together in making Gumdale State School more sustainable! Sustainability Steve has spent time with 2S and 6R. Keep up the great work!

Kitchen Garden

The dry weather in the last few weeks has kept us busy with lots of watering. To further improve our soil we also used some of our home grown compost from both our tumbler compost and the worm farm. After emptying half of our bath tub worm farm students helped to set it all up new again to keep our worms happy.

We have also been busy planting seeds and seedlings.

The highlight for most students has been our Kokedama (moss balls holding an ornamental plant) workshops. All club members from Prep to Year 6 have created fantastic Kokedamas by creating soil balls, covering them with Sphagnum Moss, adding a plant to the middle and then tightly wrapping the balls with string. Students were so successful that they even created extra Kokedamas which they donated to the Father’s Day stall.

Our special thanks goes to parent volunteer Nikki Meyers for teaching us this creative activity.

Article contributed by parent volunteer Sabine Clark

Donations of animal manure, plants, seedlings, seeds, mulch or soil for the garden are appreciated and can be dropped to the STEAM Centre.

Community Events

Student Environmental Photography Competition

Prizes include NIKON DSLR cameras and your work displayed at the Australia wide exhibition. Entries close 31 October. For more information and to enter, follow the link below.

Engineers Australia Create it Comp

Prizes include iPad Pros and Apple pencils. Entries close 30 September. For more information and to enter click the link below. Talk to your STEM teacher if you have any questions or would like support and guidance.

Sports News

Staff v Students Soccer

A closely contested lunch time game between the champion Year 5 Bayside soccer team and the undefeated staff side was held last week. After an end to end battle the game finished in a 1-all draw. Well done to all involved especially those staff who are still in the recovery phase.

2019/2020 Camps

The camps for 2019 and 2020 are as follows:

Netball – Primary Schools Cup

Good luck to our Year 5 and Year 6 GSS representative netball teams who will participating in the Primary Schools Cup in Maroochydore next weekend. Thanks to Mrs McLennan and Mrs Doherty for your hard work in the lead up to the competition.

Swim Squad

Nominations for Term 4 Swim Squad will be sent to inboxes early in Week 10. These sessions are on a Tuesday and Thursday morning in Weeks 2-9. The squad training includes technique assistance along with race specific drills and endurance work. To allow a larger number of students to participate in the before school Swim Squad, the program will be expanding in Term 4. Numbers are limited to the first 60 students who complete the online form.

Sailing 2019

Keep moving!

Music Notes

Upcoming Events

Choir

Gumtrees Choir at Singfest

Last Monday the Gumtrees Choir participated in a full day of workshops followed by a twilight concert. We undertook many rehearsals conducted by a famous Brisbane composer, Katherine Ruhle.

This experience allowed us to make new friends and develop new skills. We sang songs of different genres with different schools and learnt how to combine our voices as one. We all had an incredible time at Singfest!

by Ruby Beake and Ashleigh Rogers, Cultural Captains 2019

Gumnuts Choir Performance

Please save the date for the upcoming Gumnuts assembly performance and we hope to see you there!

Instrumental Music

Year 3 Instrumental Recruitment

At Gumdale we offer a three year Instrumental Music Program (beginning in Year 4) of group instrumental lessons on percussion, woodwind instruments and brass instruments. This also requires participation in Band and performance activities.

Selected students will undergo testing for their suitability for specific instruments with Mrs Thomas this term and first round offers will be sent home early next term.

Our Year 5 and Year 6 Instrumental students will be heading to Wynnum SHS for the WAMM Band Week, Tuesday 17 – Thursday 19 September. This camp is now in its 16th year providing the opportunity for students to rehearse in a large Symphonic Concert Band and take part in sectionals with guest instrument tutors and conductors.

The culminating camp concert will be held at the Wynnum SHS Star Theatre on Thursday 19 September at 3:30pm.

From the Music Department,

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 2019, our Platinum and Gold Sponsors are:

Platinum Sponsor

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.

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.

Alpha Home Maintenance is a handyman service designed to save time, money and energy for all your property maintenance needs and those general repairs around the home. We provide a free consultation prior to any job so we can work together on an option that will ensure you choose the service that is right for you. We strive to work hard and deliver outstanding results and exceptional customer service every time. Call us today on 0400 823 868.

Gold - STEM Sponsor

South East Electrical Services conducts all types of electrical works from a single power point in your home to extensive electrical and data works in your office, school or commercial property. Completing regular maintenance for safety switches, lamp replacement service, test and tag of electrical items or emergency light testing, South East Electrical Services can solve your electrical or data problems. Call 1300 997 621.

P&C News

GOSHC

Thank you to those families who have enrolled for Gumdale Outside School Hours Care. Our team is excited to welcome children to our service on Tuesday 24 September.

Please note the following important dates:

We would like to highlight two items to families:

1. Bookings are now open for our September/October Holiday Program. Please note that registrations will need to be completed via our school website before casual and holiday bookings can be accepted.
2. We encourage you to read all important and updated information about the registration and enrolment process by clicking here. This includes information about registering online, why your enrolment may show as 'waitlisted' and the dates/times families can return their signed forms and other documents to the GOSHC Coordinator.

Form Drop Off Times

Please drop off forms to our team at the A Block Meeting Room (upstairs near the school uniform shop at the front of the school) during the following times, or on the first day of service 24 September, 2019:

Employment Opportunities

Can you recommend a fantastic Educator? Gumdale Outside School Hours Care (GOSHC) will be commencing service to students of Gumdale State School in September and requires great people to join the team. We are now hiring for educator positions; click on the SEEK link below and please send a cover letter and resume to Dennis Shanahan at goshc@gumdalesspc.org.au

Can you assist?

GOSHC will be seeking volunteers for the weekend of Saturday – Sunday 21-22 September to assist with our set up. Helper will be needed to help move equipment, to assist with cleaning and setting up the service. Watch for the signup link coming soon.

Father’s Day Stall

A big thank you to all the volunteers who willingly put up their hands to assist at the Father’s Day Stall last week. Students grabbed some fantastic gifts and enjoyed their shopping experience. We hope all the Gumdale Dads had a great day on Sunday.

Colour Run

This morning is Gumdale’s First Colour Run. Don’t forget these key dates:

You have until midnight tonight to fundraise, it’s not too late to set up a page and earn a great reward!

A heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers who are assisting today to make this event a huge success and a fun day for our students!

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

Gumtree Eatery

The new Birthday Box is finally here!

Will you be the first to order? The cost is just $10.00 and is available to purchase via Flexischools in the usual way just with 48 hrs notice given to Tuckshop with your selection. We will be offering an A option and a B option as follows:

Option A – Mini Traveller Pie & fries, Nudie juice popper (3 flavours to choose from), Birthday certificate, novelty toy, chocolate gingerbread student & sultana snack pack.
Option B – Beef slider & fries, Nudie juice popper (3 flavours to choose from), Birthday certificate, novelty toy, chocolate gingerbread student & sultana snack pack.

Please note:

• Minimum 48 hrs notice needed
• Pay via Flexischools as normal under the ‘Birthday Box’ section
• Email Tuckshop with date, name, class and pack selected (tuckshop@gumdalesspc.org.au)
• Food intolerance can be catered for, parent will need to make contact with convenor a week in advance and price may change.
• Child is to collect their own Birthday Box from Tuckshop

If you are available to volunteer in the Tuckshop for an hour or two, please follow the link below to our Signup page. Signing up is quick and easy! Click here:

• Click on the required SignUp.com link below
• Scroll through the available dates and make your selection.
• SignUp.com will email you a reminder 48 hours before your selected date.
• If you cannot make a shift which you have signed up for, could you please remove yourself from signup for the day in question. This will ensure that spot is left open for someone else to add their name and we will get an email notification.
• To provide a safe working environment, a minimum dress standard is required when volunteering in the Tuckshop as it is a food production area.
• Closed in shoes, no singlet tops and hair longer than shoulder length must be worn up.

Carol and Helen
Gumtree Eatery Tuckshop Convenors

Uniform Shop News

2020 Senior Shirts

2020 Senior Shirts are now available to pre-order on Flexischools with expected delivery last week of Term 4. Orders close on Friday 25 October. Please ensure correct size when ordering. The uniform shop has sample sizes from size 8-24 to try on. Our supplier has recommended students to go up a size when ordering. All Orders are non-refundable.

Shorts

Scags branded Formal Shorts in sizes 4 and 10 are still available at the sale price of $5.00 each. Formal shorts can be worn with the Formal Shirt and everyday Polo shirt. Any incorrect sizes can be exchanged as required.

Surf Hats

The Uniform Shop still have a few of the old style Surf Hats available. Surf Hats have been discounted down to $5 each. These are available in the red Prep hats and the large size (59-61cm) blue hat only. Blue Bribie and Stradbroke hats are no longer available. Available only while stocks last.

Swimwear

Swimwear orders are now closed and are due to arrive in Week 2 of Term 4.

Prep Uniform Packs

Prep Uniform packs will be available for pre-purchase in Term 4.

If you have any questions regarding swimwear, Senior Shirts or clearance items please email uniform@gumdalesspc.org.au

Michelle Moffatt
Volunteer Uniform Shop Manager

Volunteering at Gumdale State School

Thank you to all who have joined the volunteer pool. Volunteering is a great way to get involved in our school.

If you’d like to find out more or would like to be added to our volunteer pool, please email fundraising@gumdalesspc.org.au and you will be notified via Sign-Up Genius when volunteering opportunities arise throughout the year.

Fundraising Calendar

We are very excited about this year’s calendar. Please ‘save the date’ for the events detailed below. Details for each event will be published in the newsletter, and on social media, closer to the date.

Fundraising Programs

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

Follow the P&C

To stay up to date with all things P&C, 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 pandc@gumdalesspc.org.au

OSHC

Contact YMCA OSHC Gumdale

Phone: 07 3890 2675
Mobile: 0428 333 317
agd@ymca.org.au

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