18 October 2019

Newsletter Articles

From the Principal

Term 4 is off to a great start. It will be a busy 8 weeks ahead including the continuation of our swimming program, Year 4 camp, music performances and the Year 6 Graduation. I look forward to seeing the great work students are doing as I visit classrooms this term.

A small group of year 4 and 5 students competed in the Maths Mastermind Challenge this week, coming away with the Spirit Award. Well done students!

Parking and Pedestrian Safety

A few reminders about parking and safety around Gumdale State School:

• Please be considerate of our community neighbours and other parents when dropping off and picking up students. Car parking at Eastside Village is provided for customers and patrons utilising these shops and services. In addition to the Tilley Road carpark, car parking is also available along Formosa Road, Tilley Road, New Cleveland Road and Dianthus Street.
• When using Stop Drop and Go, please do not leave your vehicle. If you need to leave your vehicle to walk your child into school or GOSHC, please use the carpark.
• Student and parent pedestrians are asked to enter and exit the school grounds via designated footpaths and gates. Please do not walk across carpark entrances.

Early Years Outdoor Learning Area

I am pleased to share the draft design for our Early Years Outdoor Learning Area. We received the grant for this project last term and expect work to begin in the next few weeks. The area will be located between C and D Blocks. There will be some impact on pedestrian movement and noise levels during construction but it is hoped that this will be short term. This is an exciting development for our school and we look forward to using this new resource in 2020 and beyond.

GOSHC

Finally, let me congratulate the P&C and the GOSHC team who have successfully launched the new outside school hours care service. After a transition period during the school holidays, complete with brand new resources and fresh ideas, the team are providing fantastic care for families at Gumdale. We look forward to growing together with GOSHC.

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

Welcome back, after what we hope was a restful and fun-filled holiday. The students have certainly come back refreshed, focused and ready to do their Gumdale best.

This term we welcome Amanda Zoppi to the Deputy Principal team. Amanda is acting in the role for Daphne Gillies, as the Deputy Principal of Prep and Year 1. We are excited to have her on board and we hope that she enjoys her time in the role.

Queensland’s Mental Health Week

This week we have embraced Queensland’s Mental Health week and its theme of Take time — for mental health. Our staff have provided a range of lunchtime activities for the students to engage in. These activities aim to build the students’ self-confidence, growth mindset, resilience, and allow time for mindfulness and reflection. Our staff also embraced the week by engaging in mindful colouring, yoga and a healthy morning tea.

Below are some simple actions that are internationally recognised as the Wheel of Wellbeing.

Regularly practising these actions is beneficial for everyone.

• Take time to be active – it’s good for your mind as well as your body
• Take time to learn – learning new things can make you more confident as well as being fun
• Take time to give – Practicing small acts of kindness, volunteering time or simply helping a friend in need can help you feel more satisfied with life
• Take time to connect – spending time with other people is important to everyone’s mental wellbeing
• Take time to enjoy the moment – Paying more attention to the present and the world around you helps relieve stress and makes you feel better
• Take time to care for our planet – keeping our planet in shape is the best recipe for world wellbeing.

If you would like further information, please visit their website:

Reminders

As the weather begins to heat up, please ensure that your child has a school hat and drink bottle. If items have been misplaced, please check the lost property outside the office and also at GOSHC. We have noticed an increasing number of students bringing toys to school. We ask that you remind your child that toys and other special belongings are not to be brought to school.

Tuckshop

As you will have seen, the Tuckshop has an exciting new menu! With this release, we are sure to see the number of orders spike. Our tuckshop is incredibly busy, especially on a Friday. We would appreciate any time that you could give to helping in the tuckshop and we know that the Tuckshop team would greatly appreciate your support.

Class Newsletters

Year level newsletters are now available on our school website. They contain information specific to each year level. Please click here to view and download.

Thank you for all of your efforts in helping your child to have a smooth start to Term 4.

Resource Centre

Scholastic Book Club

The latest book club issue is out now. All orders are to be done online through the Scholastic LOOP ordering system. Orders close 22 October.

Mental Health Week

Last week was QLD Mental Health Week and this year’s theme was ‘Take Time for Mental Health’. Students were invited to participate in lunchtime activities around wellbeing. They enjoyed listening to relaxation music while making ‘warm fuzzy bookmarks’ with positive messages about themselves; a ‘Bag of Affirmations’ filled with encouraging notes of inspiration to help get them through difficult times; and mindfully colouring in. Staff were also involved in the week doing some mindful colouring during breaks in the staffroom and having a shared morning tea on Friday morning.

In our fast-paced society, it is important to attend to our wellbeing and give ourselves, and our children, time to slow down, reboot and reconnect. If you know a child who needs some extra support, phone Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 or visit the link below.

STEAM News

Waste Free Wednesday

Last term, Year 2 students completed a writing task to persuade the Student Council to introduce ‘Waste Free Wednesday’. Student Council and our STEM Captains were persuaded and Year 2 students kicked off this initiative with great success at the end of Term 3. The weekly class winners to date have been 2J, 2WC and 2R.

Stay tuned for the release of ‘Wrapper Free Rap’! Student Council members and guests have been busy in the recording studio working on this epic first release.

Together we are on our way to becoming a ZERO WASTE SCHOOL!

Sustainability @ Gumdale

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

STEM Clubs

Code Clubs

New Club! Mrs Ronalds will be hosting a new Scratch Code Club for year 5 and 6 students. New members for all clubs are always welcome.

Kitchen Garden Club

Our gardens thrived over the holidays with our melons and pumpkins taking off. Club members started Term 4 by planting new seedlings (zucchini, sweet corn, beans and lavender) and harvesting beetroot, carrots and kale. Students munched on the freshly harvested carrots, infused their water with freshly picked mint and the favourite: kale chips made with kale from our garden. The students loved the crunchy kale chips!

Making your own kale chips is easy and you can get your kids involved making them:

• Remove the leaves from the thick kale stems and tear into bite size pieces.
• Wash and thoroughly dry kale.
• Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
• Bake in a 175°C oven for about 12 minutes.

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.

Talk to your STEM teacher if you have any questions or would like support and guidance.

Digital Tech News

All 2020 App lists for Year 2 - 6 have been posted on the school website. Click here to access these lists for your child. The recommended iPads for the 2020 BYOD program are below:

We are currently in the process of setting up a JB Hi-Fi online portal for families as an option to order their child’s iPad. Once the Gumdale SS portal has been finalised, the online code will be made available through the school website.

Social Media Tips for Parents

• Talk to children about online privacy issues, making sure they know to never to identify personal information such as their full name, address, age and school. Don't ever post photos in school uniform.
• Teach your children to respect people’s privacy and not share anyone else’s personal information online without permission.
• Don’t tag photos of your children at their school if your accounts are not set to completely private. This is a child safety issue as anyone driving past can search the school on Instagram and see all of the photos that have been tagged at the school, often by parents who have not set their account to private on Instagram. If your account is not completely private, anyone can see your photos of your child, their name, the name of the cat, where you go on holiday, what your family does on weekends, family members’ birthdays and other information about your family and your life. Therefore, a complete stranger could make up a story that could be very convincing to your child by using the information you have shared in a public forum of more than 500 million users.
• If you are going to post anything with a significant fact, check it first.
• Teach your children to understand the importance of passwords, keeping them private and changing regularly.
• Make sure the apps you allow your kids to use are age appropriate.
• Ban devices from the bedroom from as young as possible. Set boundaries around use.
• Share pictures and videos only with consent and respect the privacy of others.
• Consider the fact that children in the background of photos or videos you take at your child’s school may be on “no publish” lists. Some children are in protective custody or witness protection and an innocent photo posted on social media could be disastrous.
• Teach young people not to say, or repeat anything that they would not say if the person were standing right in front of them.
• Recognise that other people’s opinions may be different to their own and that does not give them permission to attack those opinions online.
• Make sure you respect classification on games; they are there for a reason.
• Make sure the young people in your care know that under no circumstances should they should go and meet with anyone they meet online. Stranger Danger rules apply because they are now literally on digital steroids and 24x7.

Sports News

Term 4 Swim Lessons

Congratulations to all of the students who have commenced Term 4 swimming lessons. It has been great to see such a high participation rate and plenty of excitement as students commence their lessons. Students participate in 8 x 40 minute lessons throughout the term under the instruction of Aquatic Achievers. I look forward to seeing their progression through the program.

Elite Sailing

Congratulations to the 9 GSS sailors who went to Yeppoon to participate in the Queensland Youth Sailing Championships on the holidays. These students have trained all year in preparation for this State event and represented the school exceptionally. Those students were:

Tom M, Preslee P, Isabella E, Keiran B, Jackson S, Jade P, Matilda C, Max L and Toby M.

Women in Sport

Check out Gumdale State School’s submission to ACHPER QLD Women in Sport Video Competition for 2019. Thank you to Miss Goddard for her creativity!

2019/2020 Camps

The camps for 2019 and 2020 are as follows:

Little A'S

Is your child in Prep to Year 2? Do you want your child to learn how to move while having fun in Term 4? Acceleration and Gumdale State School have partnered up to run a Little A’s program in Term 4 for students in P-2.

These Little Accelerators Sessions will include: Stability, Flexibility, Footspeed, Strength, Agility and Anaerobic Fitness. These sessions will increase your child's movement and motor control whilst being FUN at the same time.

Sessions are Monday afternoons in Hollis Hall at 3:15pm – 3:45pm from Monday 28 October, 2019.

$50 for 5 Sessions or $13 per session. Receive a discount up to $5 if 2 or more enrol together.

To register or more info please click on the link here:

Keep moving!

Music Notes

Upcoming Events

Our annual Night of Music is happening on Tuesday 12 November showcasing the various music groups at Gumdale. This year we are combining for one concert starting at 6:00pm at the Wynnum State High School Star Theatre. Stay tuned for more information and any parents who are available to assist with transporting equipment in the lead up or with logistics on the night please email lslat29@eq.edu.au

Choir

Upcoming Choir Performances

We look forward to hearing from the Gumnuts and Gumleaves Choirs this term on assembly. Please save the following performance dates in your diaries:

Instrumental Music

Upcoming Band Performance

Well done to the Senior Concert Band for their performance on Monday’s Assembly. We look forward to hearing from the Beginner Concert Band next Tuesday on Assembly. We hope to see you there.

Year 3 Instrumental Recruitment Update

Just a reminder that 2020 Instrumental Music Offers Acceptance Forms are due today. This will complete the process for first round offers.

Xylophone Club

Last term the students in Xylophone Club with their conductor Miss Moran shared with us the pieces they have been learning at a lunch time concert. Well done to all the students and we look forward to hearing you at the next event.

Piano Accompanists 2020

We are expanding the role of Piano Accompanists in 2020 for our students excelling in their private piano tuition. Any students wishing to become a Gumdale Accompanist in 2020 will need to audition later this term with Miss Slater. You will need to play ‘Advance Australia Fair’ and one other piece of your choosing for the audition.

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

We are incredibly proud that our new GOSHC service is up and running! A massive thank you to our amazing GOSHC team for their tireless efforts the past couple of months during the transition process. We were fortunate to have a group of volunteers who assisted in the set up on Saturday 21 September – your time and assistance is so appreciated. You can read more about GOSHC below.

General Meeting

The final P&C meeting for 2019 will be held on Thursday 14 November from 7:00pm at the Gumdale Tavern. It will be a chance to celebrate all we have accomplished together in 2019! Nibblies will be provided and everyone is welcome.

Term 4 School Disco

The P&C is excited to be hosting a school disco for Term 4. Tickets will be available at the door and sausages, drinks and snacks will be available for purchase. Times are as follows:

More information and a call for volunteers will be available in the next newsletter.

Volunteering at Gumdale State School

Volunteering is a great way to get involved in our school. If you would 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 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

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

GOSHC

We would like to thank the GSS community for the warm welcome and the P&C members and volunteers who offered so much support in setting up our new OSHC service. Vacation care for September/October was full of fun activities and we are now in full swing with before school and after school care. The children have given us some great ideas for future programs.

All About Our Team

Dennis Shanahan – Coordinator

Dennis has come to Gumdale from Edwardstown Primary School OSHC in Adelaide. His service received an exceeding rating against the ACECQA. Dennis has worked in OSHC for 16 years and we are very lucky to have him leading our team.

McKinley Swift – Assistant Coordinator

McKinley has worked in OSHC for 2.5 years, mostly as an Inclusion Support Specialist and Assistant Coordinator.

Abby Nield – Admin/Educator

Abby will be a familiar face to our students, having developed a great rapport during her time with YMCA. She has worked in the OSHC industry for 3 years as an educator and administrator.

We also welcome a fantastic team of educators, most of whom were also part of the previous YMCA team: Tracey, Bailey, Ebony, Madison, Natania, Elaine, Lesley, Grace, Rhian, Matthew, Henry, Kirra, Jacob and Alex. We will introduce them over the course of this term.

Program Highlights

Our Spring Vacation Care was a huge success with several incursions and excursions which offered a fantastic range of activities for the children. Activities included jumping castles on day 1, Disney Day, a trip to the cinema and picnic at the park, Wheels Day and Subway lunch, Inflatable World, Cool Kids First Aid, Plaster Fun House, Masterchef and Minute to Win It Day, Built a Bear and a Mexican fiesta.

We also started our garden using some of our Woolworths seedlings. The kids loved getting their hands dirty!

We will have our vacation care program for December/January available to families to see our activities and make bookings from Week 6 this term.

Pupil Free Day

Enrolments

A reminder that all GOSHC enrolments must be made via the school website from a desktop browser. To assist you with this process, please view the FAQ here:

Summer Break

GOSHC will be closed for 2 weeks over the summer break from Monday 23 December 2019 to Sunday 5 January 2020.

Gumtree Eatery

We are trialling a new earlier cut off time on Fridays at 8:00am. This will enable the convenors to have more time to prepare and cook meals on the busiest day of the week. We have a large number of orders every Friday and with limited volunteers this is always a struggle. So with one extra hour for cooking time and prep, this will help us immensely. This will not affect Late Lunch Orders. Thank you for your understanding.

A few reminders: If you need to CANCEL an order on the day please call Tuckshop direct or call the admin office up until 8:45am or (8:00am on a Friday). We do not always have time to check emails throughout the day. If the food has already been made, you will still be charged and the order cannot be refunded or moved to another day.

Late Lunch orders: These can be made via Flexischools up until 10:30am or via the admin office at any time. *Please note: if a child comes to the Tuckshop at break time and has no food, they are sent to the office where the admin staff will call the parent to advise, they can then be offered a Late Lunch with a parent’s approval.

Orders via the admin office will need to be PAID BY CASH directly to the Tuckshop; an IOU will be sent home with your child. Please pay your IOU promptly as we have many outstanding.

Sushi is now available and will be available until 27 November (Week 8). Order by 9:00pm Tuesday on Flexischools.

We were celebrating lots of Birthdays this week with our new Birthday Box and ZooperDooper Bucket, see Flexischools for ordering.

We are looking for new volunteers to help us out in Tuckshop. We can only operate this busy Tuckshop and keep prices low with your help, otherwise it would not be possible. On a daily basis we need one volunteer then at the end of the week we need at least three. At the moment we are struggling on a Friday. There are many ways you can help: washing the dishes, folding pizza boxes, filling the drinks fridge or sticking labels on bags - all these tasks can be done in one hour! Many hands make light work.

Carol and Helen
Gumtree Eatery Tuckshop Convenors

Uniform Shop News

Prep Packs

2020 Prep Packs are available to pre-order only on Flexischools. Prep Packs include a School Bag, Library Bag, new style prep Bucket Hat, 1 Formal uniform and 2 everyday uniforms. Prices are available on Flexischools. All pre-ordered Prep Packs will be available for collection on 20 November at Prep Orientation or during normal business hours after 20 November. Extended trading hours in January are to be confirmed.

Senior Shirts

2020 Senior Shirts are available to pre-order via Flexischools. All orders are due by 4:00pm Friday 25 October. Expected delivery date is Week 10, Term 4. The Uniform Shop has sample sizes available for students to try on. No exchanges or refunds, please order correct size.

Swimwear

2020 pre-order of GSS Swimwear is open until 1 November, with expected delivery in Week 1, Term 1 2020. Sample sizes are available for students to try. Please ensure correct size when ordering, no exchanges or refunds.

Clearance Items

Size 4 and 10 Formal shorts are still available at the sale price of $5.00 each, available in store on online at Flexischools. Old style Surf Hats are also available for $5.00 each, limited house colours left. Only available in size blue 61cm and red prep hats.

If you have any questions regarding swimwear, Senior Shirts or clearance items please email the Uniform Shop on the details below.

Michelle Moffatt
Volunteer Uniform Shop Manager

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