Guardian Angels' Newsletter Term1 Week 5 2024
Coming up @ GA
Wednesday 28 February | Internet Safe Education | 6:00pm | MC Library
March 18 - March 29 | Prep 2025 Sibling Interviews
March 18 - March 22 | Parent Teacher Interviews
Week 6
Monday 26 February
Uniform Shop open 7:30am - 10:30am
Yr 1 - Yr 6 Singing Program (Creative Kidz)
Wednesday 28 February
Sports Aerobics - Hall - 7:30am
Choir - Music Room - 7:45am
Tuckshop (Orders must be in by 7:30am)
Roar Active After School Program - 3.15pm - 4.15pm - Bay Tce Oval
Parent Internet Safe Education Session - 6pm - MC Library
Thursday 29 February
Tuckshop (Orders must be in by 7:30am)
Uniform Shop open 1:00pm - 4pm
Yr 1 - Yr 6 Instrumental Music Program (Creative Kidz)
Friday 1 March
Tuckshop (Orders must be in by 7:30am)
Week 7
Monday 4 March
Uniform Shop open 7:30am - 10:30am
Yr 1 - Yr 6 Singing Program (Creative Kidz)
Wednesday 6 March
Sports Aerobics - Hall - 7:30am
Choir - Music Room - 7:45am
Tuckshop (Orders must be in by 7:30am)
Year 5/6 Camp
Roar Active After School Program - 3.15pm - 4.15pm - Bay Tce Oval
Thursday 7 March
Tuckshop (Orders must be in by 7:30am)
Year 5/6 Camp
Uniform Shop open 1:00pm - 4pm
Yr 1 - Yr 6 Instrumental Music Program (Creative Kidz)
Friday 8 March
Tuckshop (Orders must be in by 7:30am)
Year 5/6 Camp
From the Principal
I extend sincere thanks to all our families for your attendance at last week’s Parent Partnership Open Classroom and Expo, and for taking such an active part in your child’s education. It was wonderful to see so many parents taking the opportunity to attend and to meet their child’s teacher/s for 2024, and connecting with the learning through the ‘Third Teacher’ learning walls in the classrooms.
The evening was a wonderful reminder of how incredibly grateful I am for our teaching and support teams, our students, and for all that you do as parents to support your children and our Guardian Angels’ team. This partnership is invaluable in the learning progress of each child and helps them to feel connected to their learning and to our school community.
You are always welcome to ‘check in’ with the curriculum focus of your child’s learning throughout the year via the ‘Third Teacher’ learning wall displays in each classroom, or by speaking with your child’s class teacher. Our teaching teams have worked extensively to create frameworks around teaching and learning practices, focusing on literacy, that are consistent from Prep – Year 6. These were shared during our Open Classroom and year level SWAYS, and are evident in the visuals of the learning walls in each of the learning spaces. This approach to consistency has been fundamental in supporting a deep level of engagement in learning for each child; from the very first days of the school year.
A reminder that the SWAYS from your year level teacher/s and the leadership team can be accessed at any time. These aim to provide detailed information around class routines, school processes and policies. These SWAYS also include our school wide approaches to the OLi and Year 5/6 Leadership Programs, and behaviour learning as we work together to ‘LIVE the GA Way’.
I look forward to sharing the great year of learning that is ahead of us, with you and your family, as together, we ‘Aim High and Fly’ in 2024.
Update: Reimagining of Play and Outdoor Facilities (MC Campus, Bay Terrace & Chestnut St)
I am excited to share an update around the planned project for the Revitalisation of the Mount Carmel Campus Play and Outdoor Facilities. This project was approved at the end of last year and is set to commence construction in the coming weeks.
The project will be constructed in two stages. The first being the works along Chestnut St fence line and the second being the replacement of the play equipment. This approach will:
- minimise disruption to routines and allow students maximum access to the oval area and play space during construction.
- enable the additional works to be included within each stage (this also allows materials to be ordered and delivered)
- allow delivery of the play structure
Additional Works Required within the Project:
Post the recent weather event, several additional areas for works have been identified as requiring inclusion within this project.
These additional inclusions are to reduce the need for future maintenance and works in the newly constructed playground, and to maximise the long-term usage of the area and aim to:
- address the fence concerns that have become more prevalent since the large washout along Chestnut St and Bay Terrace fence lines.
- reduce the impact of wash outs along the finished project.
- redesign the scope of the drainage works to align to the fence replacement.
The BCE Building Services Team and the playground contractors are developing an additional plan and costings for the project. The additional costings for these are being finalised, with some of the costs being supported by the contingency allowances within the overall project.
For those families new to Guardian Angels, the need to revitalise the MC playground space and equipment was identified as part of master planning processes, with many components of the current play equipment reaching the end of product life.
This project is a collaborative effort between our school, P&F, Brisbane Catholic Education, Parish, and external consultants, to enable the creation of holistic and supportive environment for our students to thrive.
This project has garnered strong support from our Parents and Friends Association (P&F) and is seamlessly aligned to our school’s master planning. Supporting the revitalisation of play spaces at Guardian Angels’ has been a focus of the P&F’s activities over the past years and we are grateful for the contribution of $100 000 towards this project. The estimated costs of the project is approximately $270 000, with additional works to be costed in the coming days.
Our Reimagining Project:
- is specifically designed for our Bay Terrace area to be a feature for our school.
- will include outdoor play spaces where our students can learn and play in an area that is inclusive, encourages physical fitness and imaginative play.
- features a variety of play equipment and caters to different age groups and interests.
- supports students during everyday routines and during OHSC and Vacation Care.
What are the project features?
The proposed Reimagining Project will include:
Fixed play equipment: A new, multi-level play structure incorporating climbing wall, slides, and interactive elements, promoting physical and cognitive development, as well as elements that encourage balance and coordination.
Nature-inspired revitalisation of Chestnut St fence line: The playground design is positioned to ensure that we maximise the natural shade areas along the Chestnut St fence line and maintain the oval green space. The inclusion of timber decks and seating along the Chestnut St fence line are beautiful features and can be used for reading, gathering and quiet time.
Feature wall (cnr Chestnut St and Bay Terrace) and natural hedge screen: The feature wall aims to provide a visual ‘presence’ for the school along Bay Terrace. This structure connects to a natural hedge aimed to reduce visibility from the bus stop and street.
The MC playground project will stand as a testament to our school’s commitment to providing a dynamic and inclusive space for our students that is community centred. Through collaboration, innovation, and dedication, this playground will become a cherished asset for years to come.
Kind regards
Veronica Tomerini-Smith
Principal
From the Assistant Principal - Administration
Good afternoon lovely families …
NAPLAN (Years 3 & 5)
The joyous season of NAPLAN is upon us … and we are working to prepare our beautiful Year 3 and 5 students for these tests. The testing of NAPLAN begins on Wednesday 13 March and will continue for at least a week beyond this date. The tests have been carefully scheduled so that your child/ren doesn’t lose other important educational experiences such as their Drama, Music, Sport and Literacy lessons. Please see the Guardian Angels’ Naplan Timetable attached to this newsletter. The schedule itself is not onerous at all. We allow for time of rest and the teachers are so wonderful at supporting the students through this process (sometimes it seems more stressful for the teachers to be honest, as they are always looking out for the welfare of their students).
NAPLAN is a national literacy and numeracy assessment that all students in Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 sit each year across Australia. While it does provide important information about the students’ literacy and numeracy skills , it also provides schools valuable information about the impact of the curriculum, teaching and learning and students’ progress against the educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.
NAPLAN consists of four individual testing experiences that will be completed in the following order: 1) Writing 2) Reading 3) Conventions of Language (spelling and grammar/punctuation) and 4) Numeracy. Most of the NAPLAN testing experience is completed in an online environment. The only exception to this is the Year 3 Writing test which is still conducted in the paper format.
The online nature and set up of NAPLAN provides precise results and opportunities for schools to identify those areas in which students are excelling or may need further support. The students also engage more enthusiastically with the online format.
The NAPLAN Public Demonstration Site is a really wonderful place for parents, students and teachers to experience NAPLAN in an online environment. I strongly encourage you to visit the site, along with your child/ren, and have a play with the demonstration tests.
You can find the site here: https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/public-demonstration-site
Teachers at Guardian Angels will be using this site, along with other planned experiences, to provide immersion opportunities for the students as they prepare for NAPLAN.
On Monday 26 February, your child’s teacher will spend two hours with me as we conduct a training session for the Test Administrators. We do this training every year and you can be assured that these teachers both take this responsibility very seriously and are exceptionally competent with the processes and procedures of NAPLAN.
To further support our students we will be participating in a practice test sometime in Week 6 or 7. We will schedule this practice test during our Test Administrator training on Monday. All students in Years 3 & 5 will participate in an omnibus test which will provide experiences from reading, conventions of language and numeracy. These tests, while formally set up through the assessform platform (used in real NAPLAN), do NOT identify the students (they are provided with set up ids), are not marked and are not reported on in any way. It really is just a wonderful opportunity for our students and teachers to experience especially the setting up, signing in and finalising stages of the NAPLAN tests. Some over the next week, I will also take the students for an extended session where I will show them aspects of the online test (ways to answer questions, flagging questions etc). I like to do this a little closer to NAPLAN so that it is fresh in their minds. We also use this opportunity to ease their concerns and help them understand that this is a wonderful experience (often fun for the students).
I will communicate directly with the parents of Year 3 & 5 students as NAPLAN approaches. Please monitor your email as I will send separate communication to those parents directly.
PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS
In the second last week of this term (Week 9), we will again be offering formal Parent Teacher Interview opportunities.
These interviews are wonderful opportunities for parents to catch up with their child/ren’s teacher/s and celebrate the students’ successes and achievements. They also allow for important discussion regarding ways that we, as a team, can support our students in areas of strength, challenge and with relationships with others. The Parent Teacher Interviews will be held in Week 9 (Monday 18 – Friday 22 March).
At the moment, our wonderful class teachers are setting up their individual interview schedules in PTO (Parent Teacher Online). For the most part, interviews may be offered until around 5:30 each afternoon with the exception of Thursday 21 March. On Thursday 21 March, teachers will offer later interview times to try to support our working parents who may not be able to get here earlier than 5:30pm.
Parent Teacher Interviews will be easily booked through the PTO (Parent Teacher Online) link in the Parent Portal.
Parents will be able to book a Parent Teacher Interview through the PTO app. This will open to parents on Monday 4 March at 9:00am. You will have until Wednesday 13 March to book an interview time.
Many thanks for your ongoing support.
Blessings of peace to you all for the coming week
Nicole Waller
From the Assistant Principal - Religious Education
Good afternoon families.
Shrove Tuesday
Last Tuesday we celebrated Shrove Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent starts: the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It's a day of penitence, to clean the soul, and a day of celebration as the last chance to feast before Lent begins. Shrove Tuesday is sometimes called Pancake Day after the fried batter recipe traditionally eaten on this day. But there's more to Shrove Tuesday than pigging out on pancakes or taking part in a public pancake race. The pancakes themselves are part of an ancient custom with deeply religious roots. Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the ritual of shriving that Christians used to undergo in the past. In shriving, a person confesses their sins and receives absolution for them. When a person receives absolution for their sins, they are forgiven for them and released from the guilt and pain that they have caused them.
Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent. Giving up foods: but not wasting them. During Lent there are many foods that some Christians - historically and today - would not eat: foods such as meat and fish, fats, eggs, and milky foods. So that no food was wasted, families would have a feast on the shriving Tuesday, and eat up all the foods that wouldn't last the forty days of Lent without going off.
Ash Wednesday
On Wednesday, we celebrated one of the most important days in our liturgical calendar,
Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday represents the start of Lent, the 40 days that Jesus
spent contemplating his life, knowing that his earthly time was going to end. During Lent
we have periods of fasting, penance and reflection. We think about how we can make
ourselves better people. The ashes placed on our forehead is a reminder of this. These
ashes are made from blessed palms used during last year’s Palm Sunday celebrations.
You will also notice the liturgical colour change to purple. Purple reminds us that we are
in a time of waiting and contemplation.
Project Compassion
Thank you to everyone who helped support our Pancake Breakfast for Project
Compassion, your generosity is greatly appreciated!
Every year during Lent, Caritas Australia launch their Project Compassion appeal. This
year the theme is “For all Future Generations”. The Project Compassion appeal helps to
raise money and awareness for less fortunate people throughout our world. It helps
them to gain access to education, something which they may not have received
previously, which in turn helps them to create an income for their own families and
communities. Each week students will hear a story of how people in our world, who are
fighting the odds are graced with the kindness of people like you, extraordinary things
can happen. You can learn more about the amazing work of Caritas at
https://www.caritas.org.au/project-compassion/community/
Class Mass
Thank you to Year 3 and 4 Blue who led our first-class mass for this year. Each term
students will celebrate a Mass led by one of their cohort classes. They will be held at 2pm
in Guardian Angels’ Church. We look forward to journeying in faith with our students.
Important Dates:
• Tuesday 21st March – Harmony Day – Class Liturgy
• Thursday 28th March – Easter Liturgy – Whole School – Shed – 9am
I hope you have a wonderful week.
God Bless and take care,
Rhiannon
From the Primary Learning Leader
MMA’s – Measure, Monitor and Act
Every three weeks our teachers, Primary Learning Leader (PLL) & Student Support Team
(ST:IEs) come together to engage in professional dialogue around our student’s reading and
writing progress. We review data, guided reading practices, assessment tools and discuss the
explicit teaching focus moving forward. Last week I had the pleasure of working with all our
teachers during our first MMA to establish the implementation of BOOST.
What is BOOST?
Here at Guardian Angels’, we have a targeted and strategic way of working, using classroom
teachers, support teachers and school officers to support student learning and engagement.
This targeted and strategic way of working is called BOOST.
BOOST involves additional staff being allocated to year levels during literacy block times
(specifically during guided reading time) to facilitate the implementation of strategic
teaching responses designed to meet the specific needs of groups of students with regards
to their literacy development.
Data is analysed during MMAs to identify groups of students working towards similar goals
and flexible groupings are then created from across all classes in the year level. Short term
goals are set for these groups of students to work towards and class teachers plus additional
staff, work with the groups to provide explicit teaching to help students reach their goals.
We saw wonderful progress last year with the implementation of BOOST across Prep – Year
Two and we are very excited to now have our Year 3 – Year 6 students also engaging in
BOOST.
School Fees - Reminder
School fees for Term 1 2024 have been issued and are due for payment today 22 February. Thank you to those families who have already made payments or who have arrangements in place.
If you have not paid your school fees, we ask that you do so as soon as possible or contact the Finance Office to make payment arrangements.
If you have not received a copy of your statement, please check your junk/spam email folder approx. 8 February. If you require another copy of your statement, please request by emailing pwynfinance@bne.catholic.edu.au.
The Fee Calculation Worksheet is available on the School Website to assist families with calculating their term school fees.
School Website – School Fees https://www.guardianangelswynnum.qld.edu.au/enrolments/Pages/School-Fees.aspx
Our preferred method of payment is by Direct Debit. Direct debit forms are available on the School website or please email me at pwynfinance@bne.catholic.edu.au to request a copy.
Other payment options are:
- BPAY using the reference details on your statement.
- Online Payment: https://www.bpoint.com.au/payments/guardianangelsschoolwynnum?BillerCode=1747880
- EFTPOS via the School Offices.
Please always feel free to contact the Finance Office should you ever have any questions.
Amy Hardisty – Finance Officer
Awards
Congratulations to the following students, who received a LIVE the GA Way Award at assembly. These students demonstrate they LIVE the GA Way in all they do and say:
Oscar V Cliff W, Gurlincoln S, Ryan V, Chloe W, Imogen A, Zuri A, Rooni P, Erin M, Sophie F, Milla F, Millie M, Johah D,
Robert H, Rory C, Netanya M, Jack L, Lyra G, Nico C, Milan J, Matilda S, Josephine H, Max Z, Callum D
From the Tuckshop
Wednesday 28 February - Helper Needed
Thursday 29 February - Kirsty Johnston
Friday 1 March - Christine Ford
Wednesday 6 March - Helper Needed
Thursday 7 March - Helper Needed
Friday 8 March - Allison Collins
Please contact Annalise Olm - aolm@bce.catholic.edu.au - if you are able to volunteer your time in the canteen in 2024.
Before commencing your role as a volunteer or other personnel at our school, you are required to complete the online volunteer training. This training needs to be renewed annually and 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