Guardian Angels' Newsletter - Term 3 | Week 5
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Term 3 Events
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Principal News
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Assistant Principal - Administration News
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Assistant Principal - Religious Education News
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School Fees
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Guardian Angels' Colour Run
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Sports Aerobics
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Write4Fun - more congratulations
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In other news...
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From the Tuckshop
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From the P&F
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From the Parish
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Enrolments
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Coming up @ GA
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From the Community...
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Contact Us
Term 3 Events
Please keep up to date with this term's activities and events by referring to the School Calendar on the Parent Portal or BCE Connect App.
https://extranet16.bne.catholic.edu.au/parent/guardianangelswynnum/Pages/default.aspx
Don't have access to the Parent Portal or BCE Connect App? See attached instructions on how to sign up.
Principal News
As we return to school today following our EKKA public holiday, it’s hard to believe that we have reached the ‘halfway’ point of Term 3. As is our tradition at Guardian Angels’, Week 5 of each school term is welcomed as ‘Wellness Week’. A time that encourages us all to take a little time to slow down, find the joy in the simplicity of the little things and re-energise.
School Visit: Welcome Anne McKenny
We welcomed Anne McKenny (BCE Senior Leader School Progress and Performance) to our school earlier in the week as part of her regular school visits. This visit provided an opportunity for our team to discuss our school priorities, celebrate our successes and identify areas that are emerging as opportunities for growth.
‘Learning Walks’ are always a highlight during Anne’s school visits, with our teachers and students showcasing the quality learning and teaching that happens each day. To support our general hygiene routines around COVID and flu, these looked a little different, with most conversations occurring with our teaching staff around our shared focus of ‘working towards consistency’ in literacy practices.
Professional Learning Focus: ‘Working Towards Consistency’
Our ‘Learning Loop’ cycle of learning intentions, success criteria and feedback, within explicit guided reading practices has provided the foundation for our teacher’s work. A focus of this work has been the establishment of a guided reading space in each learning area, with the learning loop visually displayed as a tool to support precision in teaching focus, clearly identify the goal for the learning for each student and the ‘steps’ to success.
To enhance this work, our teaching staff have engaged in professional learning opportunities focusing on routines and practices within independent and guided reading. These sessions were facilitated by our BCE Education Officers (Literacy), with Rachael, Moira and Lucy, providing expertise to deepen the professional knowledge and practices of our teaching teams.
Supporting the application of this professional learning into practice, has been the introduction of collaborative monitoring processes called MMA’s (Measure, Monitor, Act). The purpose of these sessions is for our teachers to monitor the learning progress of each child. Within a three-week cycle, teachers work collaboratively, with their teaching team and our PLL (Liz Morrisey), to design learning and teaching programs. These programs consider how they can target their teaching to support and progress each child’s learning. With a focus on reading from Prep to Year 6 in our MMA’s, our teachers identify where each child is in their learning, aligned to the Australian Curriculum, and they establish learning goals that challenge and progress them in their learning.
School Review Report: Supporting Continuous Learning and Improvement
At the end of Term 2, our school community participated in a school review process as part of the Brisbane Catholic Education’s School Improvement cycle.
Included in this process of review and reflection, was information and data gathering, observations of classroom learning spaces and conversations with students, staff, parents and parish representatives.
BCE’s School Improvement Framework aims to support all schools on their individual journey to grow and progress. The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) National School Improvement Tool (NSIT) is at the heart of the School Improvement Framework. This framework is designed to guide our review and reflection processes and supports the continuous learning of our school.
The report from our School Review provides findings and recommendations that will inform our improvement agenda within our strategic planning processes over the next several years. In the coming weeks, there will be opportunities to share in this report, including at our upcoming Board and P&F meetings.
Blessings for the week ahead
Veronica Tomerini-Smith
Assistant Principal - Administration News
Good afternoon lovely families
FREE DRESS DAY TOMORROW (Friday 12 August)
A friendly reminder that tomorrow is a FREE DRESS DAY for our beautiful students. A gold coin donation is requested to help purchase chocolates for the chocolate toss at the P&F event, Angels on the Oval (Sunday 21 August).
Please ensure your little ones are wearing closed in shoes (eg sandshoes), sun safe clothing (sleeved and full length shirts) and their SCHOOL HAT (no caps).
These days always add a little bit of excitement to the air!!
Many blessings to you all for a wonderful week
Nicole Waller
Assistant Principal - Religious Education News
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Feast Day
Each year on 8 August we celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Australia’s beloved first saint and patron saint of out Archdiocese. On this day, we celebrate the important role she played in making education accessible for children in our country. Mary MacKillop devoted her life to ensuring a holistic Catholic education for children from rural, poor families.
St Mary MacKillop’s impact on Australian education was remarkable. She was a trailblazer and a leader who passionately advocated for the education of underprivileged children and children in remote areas where others either would or could not go. For such children and their families Mary opened a door of hope into the future (https://catholicfoundation.org.au/events/mary-mackillop-feast-day/).
Last Wednesday, Year 5/6 Red shared a special assembly about St Mary Mackillop. We thank them for this beautiful assembly, where they shared about the life of Saint Mary MacKillop and all she did.
God of the prophets you gifted Mary MacKillop with vision and courage.
In her we see one who was not afraid to speak fearlessly your gospel of love.
We pray for the sensitivity and imagination to read the signs of our times, and to articulate new possibilities for our own day.
Like Mary, may we learn to confront all that is oppressive and unjust, and empower others towards true freedom and integrity.
Spirit of wisdom, be with us as we face new horizons.
Amen
End of Year Date Claimers
Please continue to check the portal calendar for important dates. However please see below some updated dates for the end of year.
Term 4 | Week 9
School Fees
All school fees for Term 3 have now been issued and are due for payment by 19 August.
Preferred method of payment is by BPAY using the reference details on your statement OR via Online Payment: https://www.bpoint.com.au/payments/guardianangelsschoolwynnum?BillerCode=1747880
We can also accept payments by EFTPOS or cash via the School Office.
If you would like to set up direct debit arrangement please contact me at pwynfinance@bne.catholic.edu.au.
As of today there are a number of outstanding accounts from Term 1 and Term 2 this year. We appreciate prompt settlement of these accounts.
For those families experiencing short or long-term genuine inability to pay fees, we are committed to
providing support to ensure that enrolment is not compromised. Please contact me to discuss further.
Kind regards
Amy Hardisty
Guardian Angels' Colour Run
And the winner is...
1 Yellow
Congratulations on having the most active profiles registered by 8 August. You have won the in class pizza party coming to your class soon!
This year we are really hoping to raise $30,000 to support playground rejuvenation at Guardian Angels’, so, we would love all families to participate by simply creating a profile at schoolfunrun.com.au and sharing with family and friends.
To keep the excitement and fundraising going there are some more competitions coming up:
By 15 August - the student with the highest funds raised in each year group wins a…..super prize!
By 24 August - the highest fundraising class get to chose to run first on event day!
Thank you for your support!
Volunteers will be required on the day, please express your support to P&F email – pwynpandf@bne.catholic.edu.au
Sports Aerobics
Sending "aim high and fly" wishes to our Sports Aerobics Teams who are competing this weekend at The 2022 FISAF Australia Sport Aerobics & Fitness Future Champions Cup on the Gold Coast. We can't wait to hear how you go!
The GA Sports Aerobics teams have had such success that Industrie 1 are considering a Term 4 program. Please contact schools@industrie1.com.au if you are interested or have any questions regarding Sports Aerobics in Term 4.
Write4Fun - more congratulations
Congratulations to Isabella N (2 Blue) and Sophie V (2 Green) who were both awarded a certificate for 'Excellence in Writing' in the poetry section of the 2022 Write for Fun Competition. The judges indicated that their poems were of a particularly high standard which placed them in the top 5% of entries for this competition. Only 261 Excellence in Writing Awards were given out of 5000 entries. A wonderful achievement for these students.
Congratulations also to Keeley Z (2 Blue) and Elise Moore (3 Yellow) for having their submissions selected to be published in the Write4Fun National Treasures anthology.
Green
Delicious, cold, minty ice-cream
Slurpy, icy, melty slushie
Fun, bouncy, static balloons
Wet, wonderful, delicate coral
Shiny, valuable, sparkly emerald
Green
by Isabella N
Turquoise
Scaly, smooth, silky mermaid's tail
Crashing, splashing, shining sea water
Beautiful, precious, sparkly diamonds
Glimmering, glittery, shimmering sequins
Delicious, tasty, bubbling bubble-gum
Turquoise
by Sophie V
In other news...
Drop off and pick up zone volunteers
Thank you to those parents who have already so generously volunteered their time in the pick up zones. We truly appreciate your help.
We would love parent helpers at both campuses from Term 3. Pick up zones operate from 8:00am – 8:25am in the morning and from 2:55pm – 3:20pm in the afternoons. It's an easy 25 mins, opening car doors, helping little people in and out of cars.
If you can spare 20-30 minutes once or twice a week please email Jenny Druce at jdruce@bne.catholic.edu.au with your preferred day, time and campus.
If I have nominated you for a shift, and it’s not suitable, please let me know.
A friendly reminder, before commencing your role as a volunteer or other personnel at our school, you are required to complete the online volunteer training. The training can be found here: https://www.bne.catholic.edu.au/students-parents/student-protection/Pages/Student-Protection-and-Code-of-Conduct-Training-for-Volunteers-and-Other-Personnel.aspx
You will need to download, print and complete your registration form, which is contained within your online training. Return it to the School Office prior to commencing your role.
Health and Wellbeing at GA
Wearing of Face Masks: Encouraged but not Compulsory
Advice from BCE outlines that it supports the Queensland Government and the Queensland Premier’s recommendation that face masks should be worn indoors where possible, and where social distancing is not possible. However, the decision to wear a face mask should remain a personal one.
This means that while it is encouraged that our students, our staff, and visitors to our school can choose to wear a face mask - it is not compulsory.
Please note that primary school children have never been required to wear a mask when at school. As with the above scenarios it is completely up to parents as to whether they would like their child to wear a mask.
A reminder about other face mask requirements
I would also take this opportunity to remind our school community that the requirements to wear a face mask for 7 days after having COVID-19, or when a close contact are still in place, as well as ongoing public health requirements to wear a face mask when travelling on public transport (including in taxis and ride-shares).
Change to Isolation Protocols for Cleared Cases in Queensland
Up until now, people who have had COVID-19 and have been cleared after testing negative, did not need to isolate or get tested if they had COVID-19 symptoms in the 12- week period after contracting COVID-19.
This has now changed. New health advice (from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, AHPPC) is that reinfections may occur as early as 28 days after contracting COVID-19. Based on this new advice, Queensland Health has announced that the ‘cleared case’ period will be reduced from 12 weeks (3 months) to 28 days (4 weeks).
This means that anyone previously infected with COVID-19 will need to get tested and isolate if they have symptoms or return a positive test from four weeks after their initial infection.
COVID safe measures:
Regular COVID-safe measures will continue to be implemented at Guardian Angels to reduce the risk of transmission:
- Stay home when sick and get tested if exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.
- If you test positive, follow Queensland Health requirements.
- If you are a close contact of a person with COVID-19 follow the Queensland Health advice.
- Practise good hygiene – including regular hand washing, use of hand sanitiser, wearing face masks as advice directs.
- Maintain social distancing of 1.5 m.
- Consider wearing a mask as adviced by Qld Health when indoors and/or when social distancing is not possible.
- All events/activities and excursions/incursions must comply with COVID safe practices.
Please keep your child at home if they are experiencing any COVID-19, cold or flu-like symptoms, however mild. If we contact you because your child is unwell, please collect your child as soon as possible. This will help us to reduce the risk of spreading infections in our school.
Thank you for your support and understanding in these continued challenging times.
Second-hand Uniform Shop
The second hand uniform shop will be open on the first Monday of the month with the next open day on Monday 5 September.
The shop will open between 7:45am and 8:20am on the GA campus. Each item is $5. Cash only sales.
A friendly reminder regarding the process for purchasing from the second hand shop:
- only parent volunteers, managing the second hand sales, are allowed in the storeroom
- second hand items are washed and bagged according to size so that finding stock is quick and easy
- due to the demand in short opening hours please take the item as given to you by our parent volunteers. It is not possible to sift through stock; if it is unsuitable it can be returned to the Mount Carmel School Office for a refund or exchange
- the shop has a small float on the day but the exact change is appreciated.
Demand for second hand uniform items is usually high so our parent volunteers truly appreciate your kindness and patience as they help as many parents as possible when the shop is open.
Need items outside of shop open times? Please email pwynnum@bne.catholic.edu.au with what you need and one of our amazing parent volunteers will fill this order for you.
From the Tuckshop
Tuckshop Volunteer Roster
Week 6
Wednesday 17 August - HELPER NEEDED
Thursday 18 August - Simone Winsch
Friday 19 August - Karen Slater
Week 7
Wednesday 24 August - HELPER NEEDED
Thursday 25 August - Natasha Staal
Friday 26 August - Angela Pannakoek
Helpers are still needed this Term. Please contact Annalise Olm if you are able to volunteer your time in the canteen.
Before commencing your role as a volunteer or other personnel at our school, you are required to complete the annual online volunteer training. The training can be found here: https://www.bne.catholic.edu.au/students-parents/student-protection/Pages/Student-Protection-and-Code-of-Conduct-Training-for-Volunteers-and-Other-Personnel.aspx
You will need to download, print and complete your registration form, which is contained within your online training. Return it to the School Office prior to commencing your role.
From the P&F
Angels on the Oval - 21 August
Follow our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/angelsontheoval/ for more exciting updates coming soon!
From the Parish
CHILDREN'S LITURGY | 5:00pm Sunday Mass | 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month
14 August
28 August (Year 1 Led Parish Mass)
All families welcome. Make sure to let others know too.
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Interested in finding out more about the Catholic faith of the school your children attend? The Catholic Church’s mission is to offer people of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to deepen their understanding and relationship with Jesus Christ. Becoming Catholic involves a journey of faith, accompanied by the support of a parish community. This process is called Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, or RCIA and it’s an accompanied journey. If you or someone you know would like to know more about possibly becoming Catholic, please contact the parish office (3393 4980) as this year’s RCIA process will be commencing with an Intro session at 8:30am on Saturday 20th August in the Guardian Angels' church.
Enrolments
At Guardian Angels' we place particular importance in acknowledging the various gifts and talents each community member is blessed with, as we strive to unite under the theme, ‘We Are One’.
2023 Enrolments
Currently a very small number of places remain available for Prep 2023.
We encourage families with children turning 5 before 30 June 2023 to apply online as soon as possible:
http://www.guardianangelswynnum.qld.edu.au/enrolments/Pages/Enrolment-Information.aspx
Principal's Tour
The next Principal's Tour will be held on Thursday 1 September at 9:00am. Please register by email to pwynnum@bne.catholic.edu.au or by calling enrolments on 3396 4486.
Existing Guardian Angels' Families - sibling Prep 2024 enrolments
Calling all current Guardian Angels' families with sibling enrolments for Prep 2024. Please submit your applications and supporting documentation now.
We are now accepting enrolments for Prep in 2024 and 2025. For further information or interest in upcoming tours please contact Jenny Druce on 3396 4486 (ext 4) | or by email at pwynnum@bne.catholic.edu.au
Coming up @ GA
Week 6
Monday 15 August
Tuesday 16 August
URSTRONG - Year 5/6
Met East Cricket - Boys (select students)
Iona students visiting Year 4
Wednesday 17 August
Tuckshop (orders must be in by 7:45am)
P-6 Assembly led by Year 4B - 1:50pm - MC Shed (all welcome)
Thursday 18 August
Tuckshop (orders must be in by 7:45am)
Met East Cricket - Girls (select students)
Uniform Shop open 1:00pm-4:00pm
Year 1-6 Instrumental Music Program
SuperStars Dance Lessons (3-6)
Prep Raw Art Incursion
State Tennis Competition (select students)
Friday 19 August
Tuckshop (orders must be in by 7:45am)
State Tennis Competition (select students)
Week 7
Monday 22 August
Cricket Incursion - Year 4-6 PE classes - all week
Parish Sacramental Program - First Holy Communion - 2nd Rite Penance Group A | 6:30pm | GA Church
Tuesday 23 August
URSTRONG sessions - Year 5/6
Iona students visiting Year 4
Wednesday 24 August
P-6 Assembly led by Year 3G - 1:50pm - MC Shed (all welcome)
Thursday 25 August
Tuckshop (orders must be in by 7:45am)
Uniform Shop open 1:00pm-4:00pm
Year 1-6 Instrumental Music Program
Creative Kidz Music Lessons
SuperStars Dance Lessons (3-6)
Parish Sacramental Program - First Holy Communion - 2nd Rite Penance Group B | 6:30pm | GA Church
Friday 26 August
Tuckshop (orders must be in by 7:45am)
COLOUR RUN DAY!!
Sunday 28 August
Year 1 Led Parish Mass
From the Community...
Contact Us
Guardian Angels offers a broad-based inclusive curriculum with a range of opportunities and experiences that foster the growth of the whole student. We pride ourselves on the spirit that can be found in our students, staff and parents.
Visit us on the web at www.guardianangelswynnum.qld.edu.au
Visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gaswynnum
For all enquiries please email us at pwynnum@bne.catholic.edu.au
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