Guardian Angels' Newsletter Term 3 Week 1 2024
Coming Up
Week 2 | Term 3
Monday 15 July
Uniform Shop Open 7.30am - 10.30am
Tuesday 16 July
P&F Meeting
Run Club
Wednesday 17 July
Tuckshop Open (limited menu, order must be in by 7.30am)
Thursday 18 July
Tuckshop Open (limited menu, order must be in by 7.30am)
Uniform Shop Open | 1pm - 4pm
Friday 19 July
Tuckshop Open (limited menu, order must be in by 7.30am)
Year 3-6 Dance
Week 3 | Term 3
Monday 22 July
Catholic Education Week
Uniform Shop Open 7.30am - 10.30am
Tuesday 23 July
Run Club
Principal's Tour 9.00am
Board Meeting
Wednesday 24 July
Tuckshop Open (limited menu, order must be in by 7.30am)
Assembly 1.50pm
Thursday 25 July
Tuckshop Open (limited menu, order must be in by 7.30am)
Uniform Shop Open | 1pm - 4pm
Grandparents' Day
Friday 26 July
Tuckshop Open (limited menu, order must be in by 7.30am)
100 Days of Prep Celebration
Year 3-6 Dance
From the Principal
The first days of Term 3 have seen many smiling faces around the school. It has been wonderful to see so many returning from the break looking relaxed, eager to be back and enjoying reconnecting with friends, parents and staff. The spirit of our community is easily recognised in the warm greetings of ‘welcome’ and the eager way that our children share their holiday stories with their friends and teachers.
Attendance Matters: Everyday Counts
Having a shared awareness of the importance of attendance and being on time, is essential to supporting the success of our students.
As parents, we are aware that compulsory schooling in Queensland identifies our obligations to ensure that our children are enrolled and attending school, with reasonableness around absenteeism.
At Guardian Angels’ School, meeting our obligations to support attendance aligns with Brisbane Catholic Education Guidelines through our school policy and procedures. These are enacted through our attendance procedures including roll marking and notification of absenteeism.
There are times when genuine absences occur, and this is reasonable and expected due to illness and other circumstances/needs and I thank our community for the diligence that is shown in notifying the school of these times. However, it is essential to be mindful of the importance of attendance outside of these genuine times of absenteeism.
Research outlines that a significant influence on your child’s future school success is the amount of time that they spend at school. Not just that they attend each possible day, but that they are there on time.
Why a focus on attendance?
Bringing attendance into focus is essential to ensure that a greater awareness of the correlation between school attendance and children’s achievement levels, and overall success at school. Additionally, evidence also suggests that as children prepare for a highly competitive workplace and society, school attendance is an advantage.
How can I support attendance as a parent?
Our children learn so much from us and placing an importance on attendance for each school day, including sport and special days, community celebrations, liturgies, masses and end of term activities, sends the message that you value school from an academic and participation perspective. Some key points to be aware of when making decisions for your child/children around attendance are noted below:
- Emphasize that every day at school counts. Supporting attendance on each school day teaches your child to value school and the importance of participating in community.
- Be on time and avoid leaving early. Even a few minutes has a significant impact over time and also impacts on how your child may ‘settle’ and be ready for learning. For most students, optimum learning time is in the morning. Being in attendance for the start and end of day routines goes a long way in setting your child/children up to make the most of the school day, and to stay connected to the events and happenings of their home group. They are also learning about the obligation of ‘turning up on time’ which sets them up for later life.
- Consider the types of activities that impact on attendance for your child/children (e.g. extended weekends, late nights, participation in school sporting days). The impact of as little as ten minutes late or leaving a few minutes early accrues over time. Students can miss valuable learning and catching this up takes time and can impact on learning progress. This is particularly important in the early years where foundations for literacy and numeracy are learned.
Be mindful that absenteeism (including arriving late/leaving early) can impede:
- academic progress and require ‘catch up’ of work. Attendance supports deep learning through engagement in the classroom learning program.
- important social interactions with their peers and teachers. Morning and afternoon routines are important for connecting to the class and with teachers, they also support a feeling of inclusion and build self-esteem.
Playground Reimagining Project (MC Bay Terrace and Chestnut Street): Update
The recent wet weather has meant that we have to wait a little longer for the playground project to be completed. The contractors are working to enable access the play area in stages, with the play equipment and green area on track for use early next week (weather permitting), with the area on the Chestnut St fence line needing a little more time to settle before we can have full access to this area.
Staffing Arrangements
Welcome Pamela Jory (Year 1 Green Class Teacher)
Pamela Jory has been appointed as the Year 1 Green Class Teacher for Semester 2, 2024.
Pamela is a member of our relief teaching team and is well-known by our Guardian Angels’ community. A respected practitioner, her enthusiasm as an educator and caring presence will be a valuable addition to our school community.
Welcome Olivia Bailey (Classroom School Officer)
Olivia Bailey has been appointed to the role of School Officer (Classroom) for Term 3, 2024. Olivia made a valuable contribution to the Prep Green learning area last term and is excited to be joining the GA community. She has previous experiences working within BCE schools as a School Officer and OHSC Educator roles.
School Officer (Administration Office Manager/Enrolments/Risk and Compliance Officer – MC Campus): Amanda Parker
Amanda Parker has been appointed to the role of Administration Office Manager/Risk & Compliance Officer (RCO) and will be working Monday – Thursday each week, from the MC Campus. Amanda has been working in the role of Enrolments/Admin support over the past months, and we look forward to her joining the office team in a permanent capacity. She has worked extensively in BCE schools over many years, and her expertise in administration is a valuable addition to our school team.
School Officer (Administration GA Campus): Karen Flick
Karen has been appointed to the role of Administration School Officer (GA Campus) and will continue as a part of the office team in a permanent capacity. Karen has been working in this role during Semester 1, and her professionalism and calm presence is a wonderful asset for our school.
School Officer (Administration MC Campus): Shelley Walters
Shelley has been appointed to the role of Administration School Officer (MC Campus) from Monday 8 July until the end of the 2024 school year. Shelley is an experienced School Officer and has been supporting in a relief capacity in the office for some time. Shelley’s administration experiences, and her kind and gentle presence, will be a great addition to our school.
I know that you will join with me congratulating Pamela, Olivia, Amanda, Karen and Shelley on their appointments, and wishing them every blessing for their future roles.
Many blessings for a wonderful term ahead.
From the Acting Assistant Principal - Administration
Welcome to Term 3. I hope you were all able to have a relaxing and rejuvenating holiday. I am excited to be taking on the opportunity to be Acting Assistant Principal Administration and being based on the Prep – Year 2 Campus. We are looking forward to a wonderful term.
Auskick
This term sees our before-school NAB AFL Auskick program starting for students in Prep – Year 3.
Just some reminders:
- this is not a school coordinated program – NAB AFL Auskick are using our facilities to run their Auskick program before school from 7.30am – 8.30am and parents are required to supervise their child for the duration of the session
- there will be no transition of children, by school staff, to and from the training area. Students will need to be dropped to and collected by their parent or carer to/from the designated training area
- if your child is enrolled and attending OSHC after school but you would also like your child to attend the NAB AFL Auskick program you will need to communicate with OSHC coordinators separately to arrange this, and
- any concerns or questions about the program should be communicated directly to Auskick staff or coaches – there will be no intervention from the school. Contact details are available on the attached flyer.
We also ask that you are considerate of the Out of Hours School Care (OHSC) service that is operating at the same time as these sessions. During the program, our OHSC partners reduce the spaces accessed for their operational activities, to support their responsibilities for the students in their care, and to support the before school program.
As you can appreciate, having additional adults or children in the OHSC spaces has implications for general supervision and safe practices for the service.
To support our OHSC partners, I kindly request that during the Auskick sessions, including drop off/pick up routines and staying to observe the session, families are mindful to avoid gathering in designated OHSC areas, or letting children join in play, if not attending OHSC.
Your support in following the arrangements below is appreciated:
- Be mindful of avoiding gathering in OHSC spaces. These OHSC spaces include:
- The Amphitheatre and Memorial Garden, playground equipment and adjoining artificial grass area, and junior toilets (Tuckshop end of The Shed).
- Direct students participating in the program to gather with the Auskick Coach near the Chestnut St fence line.
- Parents and others observing, are also asked to gather along the Chestnut St fence line under the trees.
- You may like to bring a picnic style blanket to sit on in this space.
- Children watching the session are to remain in the supervision of their parent/s and are respectfully asked not to use the playground equipment or access to any of the allocated OHSC areas.
- Toilets: Students who are attending Auskick or waiting with parents, are to be directed to access the senior toilets.
- Junior toilets are for students attending OHSC only. This is an important safeguarding practice.
- All other students must access the senior toilets during OHSC operating hours.
- Should a younger sibling/s require adult assistance to access the toilet, please inquire at the MC office for direction to the staff toilet. Adults are not to enter the student toilets (either junior or senior facilities).
Thank you for your support.
Drop Off And Pick Up Zones
Just some reminders for our Drop Off and Pick Up Zones as we start Semester 2.
Please be sure that you are familiar with the expectations of these areas in the school that serve to make life as easy as possible for you and, most importantly, keep our beautiful kids safe and sound.
We facilitated a number of concerns from residents in Pine Street who were understandably upset that Guardian Angels’ parents were parking in front of their driveways, blocking access to their own homes. This absolutely cannot happen. Residents should always be able to access their properties. It may be useful to delay your arrival at the pick up zone by 10 minutes.
Please approach the zones from the correct area (not cutting around corners, jumping queues etc) as this causes understandable frustration for those parents who wait patiently for their turn to enter the zone from the correct areas. It is also important that parents/carers inform any person who is responsible for using the zones of our expectations in these areas eg grandparents, friends, day carers etc
Some important things to note:
- All cars are to approach the Drop Off/Pick Up Zones from the identified areas please:
GA Campus … along Akonna Street from Cedar Street NOT Pine Street (please do NOT cut the corner from Pine Street to enter Akonna Street Drop Off/Pick Up Zone)
MC Campus … along Pine Street approaching from Tingal Road.
- Please do not park/wait in front of residents’ driveways. They should be able to access in/out of their properties at any time, and we need to be respectful of this.
- ALL students are to exit vehicles from the KURB SIDE ONLY. Under no circumstances should a student be exiting a vehicle from the road side of the car.
- School bags must be in the car with the students: NOT stored in the back of the car/boot. We will not allow boots to be opened whilst in the zones.
- No drivers (or other passengers) are to get out of the car in the Drop Off/Pick Up Zones please. If your child cannot exit or enter a vehicle independently, the best option is for you to park your car and walk your child into school.
- Please do NOT USE THE CHURCH CAR PARK, or anywhere in CHESTNUT STREET or BAY TERRACE as a Drop Off and/or Pick Up Area. Any student found waiting in these areas will be redirected to an assigned (and supervised) zone.
- Any student who remains in the Pick Up Zone from 3:20pm, will be taken to the respective campus office where they will remain safely with staff until they are collected.
Thank you for your kind understanding in this matter. It is really important that ALL families are following the expectations of areas such as Drop Off and Pick Up Zones in and around our school. This makes this service as efficient as possible and helps to support the safety of our students and families.
May I also remind everyone that school opens for students at 8:05am and no earlier. Of course the exceptions to this are those families who are utilising OSHC (Outside School Hours Care) by booking their child/ren into this service. It is concerning to see students dropped at school, often outside locked school gates and left to wait there on their own until the gates open and the school is supervised from 8:05am.
Run Club
A message from Amaya our Year 6 leader.
Good afternoon GA, I’ve got some very exiting news. GA will be starting a Run Club that will be on every Tuesday morning from 8:05 to 8:25 on the oval.
How the Run Club will work is for every lap of the oval you run you will receive a paddle pop stick.
For prep to grade two, if you run two laps you will get two paddle pops sticks which will get you one token.
For grade 3 to 6 you will need to run five laps and earn five paddle pop sticks to get a token.
At the end of each Run Club the paddle pop sticks will be converted to tokens and go into the token tower. The more you run the more paddle pop sticks and tokens you will receive.
You can do the laps with your friends and siblings or on your own. Run club is for everyone.
You can run, walk, hop, skip, every lap counts.
I can’t wait to see you there running around the oval earning lots of tokens, living the GA way and supporting our new Run Club.
If you or your parents have any questions, please email Mrs Cameron or come see me. Thank you
Important Dates
Please save the date for these upcoming school events. We look forward to sharing these wonderful occasions with you.
- Thursday 11th July - NAIDOC Liturgy –– 9am - Shed
- Thursday 25th May - Grandparents Day Liturgy – 9am - Shed
- Monday 22nd July – Friday 26th July - Catholic Education Week
- Thursday 15th August - Feast of the Assumption – Whole School Mass
- Monday 19th August – Friday 23rd of August - Book Week
God bless and take care,
Rhiannon
From the Acting Assistant Principal - Religious Education
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Term 3. I hope you had an enjoyable holiday.
This week NAIDOC Week celebrations were held across Australia. The theme this year is KEEP THE FIRE BURNING! BLAK, LOUD and PROUD. This theme celebrates the unyielding spirit of our communities and invites all to stand in solidarity, amplifying the voices that have long been silenced.
The fire represents the enduring strength and vitality of Indigenous cultures, passed down through generations despite the challenges faced. It is a symbol of connection to the land, to each other, and to the rich tapestry of traditions that define Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As we honour this flame, we kindle the sparks of pride and unity, igniting a renewed commitment to acknowledging, preserving, and sharing the cultural heritage that enriches our nation.
As part of our NAIDOC Week celebrations here at Guardian Angels’ we were very excited to welcome Indigenous performer Dion Drummond to our school. Dion is one of Australia’s most experienced Indigenous performers, covering both Mainland and Islander cultures as a dancer, singer and storyteller. In his dynamic, high energy performances, Dion shared tales, language and artefacts from both of his cultures, teaching students about the different traditions of his Torres Strait Island and Aboriginal Indigenous heritage. Dion highlighted some important values, such as respect, with humour and energy. Our students and teachers enjoyed participating in learning actions of songs and dances.
We also gathered as a whole school community for a beautiful liturgy that was prepared by our Spirit Committee to mark NAIDOC week.
Grandparents’ Day
Please find below an invitation to our Grandparents' Day Celebration.
We are very much looking forward to this day with our very special loved ones.
Class Mass Timetable – Term 3
This term we continue our class masses. We will be combining our class masses with sacred singing and over the remainder of the year all classes will have a chance to host Mass in our Guardian Angels’ church.
Below are the dates, time of mass and hosting classes for the term. You are more than welcome to join us.
Week | Date & Time | Hosting Classes | Attending |
2 | 18th July 2pm | Year 3 / 4 Green | All Year 3 and 4 Classes |
4 | 1st August 2pm | Year 1 / 2 Green | All Year 1 and 2 Classes |
7 | 22nd August 2pm | Prep & 5/6 Green | All Prep and 5/6 Classes |
I am very much looking forward to this term and sharing in these celebrations with you all.
Elisha Thatcher
From the Primary Learning Leader
This Term we welcome Carmel O’Leary into the PLL role for the first four weeks of Term. During this time Carmel will be working with both teachers and students to support the teaching and learning that occurs across all year levels.
It has certainly been lovely visiting our learning spaces and seeing our students happy and excited to be back and already actively engaged in their learning.
Both Carmel and I are looking forward to an exciting term working with our staff and students to create wonderful learning opportunities that will engage all our learners here at Guardian Angels'.
Elisha Thatcher
ICAS COMPETITION
5th – 30th August
We know our students are amazing, so we’re giving them the opportunity to showcase and celebrate their talents in the world-renowned ICAS competition this year.
What is ICAS?
ICAS is an online academic competition that gives students the opportunity to challenge their higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, and Spelling Bee.
Every student who participates is celebrated and recognised with a printed certificate in each subject area, and an online results report to track development each year. Top performers are eligible for one of the highly coveted ICAS medals.
To learn more about this year’s ICAS competition, visit: (icasassessments.com/products-icas/)
How to participate in ICAS
If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please:
- Read about ICAS subjects and prices here: (com/products-icas/)
- Read the Privacy Collection Statement below.
- Read the terms and conditions here: (com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-ICAS-Assessments-Schools-TsCs_S2023.V6-1.pdf)
- Go to the Parent Portal to sign up to chosen subject areas here: (icasassessments.com/pages/pps)
- Enter our school’s access code –NJA791
- Enter your child’s details, select the subject areas your child would like to participate in, then proceed to payment.
Please note that the ICAS subject areas shown for selection are at the school’s discretion.
After payment is made via the Parent Payment System, you will receive an order confirmation email, please keep this for your records.
ICAS results and certificates
All assessments will be conducted online, at school. We will notify you of the date(s) that we will run ICAS assessments, and when your child’s ICAS results are ready. Your child’s ICAS certificates will be delivered to school. Once we have received them, we will present them to your child to bring home. The back of the certificate will show your child’s ICAS results and the login details, “TAP ID and Pin”. - Use these to enter the Results Portal orti.icasassessments.com/ortiStudent.
Privacy collection statement
The following information is a privacy notification about how your child’s data is kept private and secure.
ICAS Assessment is owned by Janison Solutions Pty Ltd (We, Us, Our).
To deliver assessment products, Janison will require your child’s School to obtain your consent to provide Janison with certain personal information of students. Janison will collect, store, use, disclose and otherwise deal with such personal information in accordance with its privacy policy (below). We are aware of our responsibility to protect personal information related to children and students from being disclosed when we deliver an ICAS Assessments product. Unless you, as the child’s legal guardian consents, we will not:
- collect any personal information or data of children other than the information we need for the successful completion of an assessment, test, or exam.
- transfer any personal information we obtain from a child in the delivery of assessments and tests to any jurisdiction outside of Australia.
- share any personal information relating to children with any third parties (except for those third parties necessary for us to carry out our Services or provide our Products e.g., medal engraving).
- use any personal information or data relating to children for marketing purposes.
You can view our full privacy policy at https://www.janison.com/privacy-policy/.
We may retain personal information and data relevant to a child for their future purposes or for research purposes by Janison for the duration of the school life cycle of the child. However, if you or your child at any time wish to have their personal information or data removed from our systems, they or you may opt out by simply contacting our Privacy Officer at privacy@janison.com or by contacting icasassessments@janison.com.
Parents & Caregivers Special Event
The wellbeing of our students and families is a valued focus of our school community. To support this, we have a wonderful opportunity for our families to attend a parent presentation by Justin Coulson to support the Mental Health and Wellbeing of our children.
Justin is the co-host and parenting expert on Channel 9's Parental Guidance, the founder of happyfamilies.com.au, and one of Australia’s most trusted parenting experts. He holds a PhD in Positive Psychology.
Over the past decade he has helped innumerable families with his 9 books about raising children, his hundreds of media appearances (including all of Australia’s major news outlets, and even the Washington Post and the New York Times), and two viral videos that have been viewed a combined 80 million times!
The presentation will focus on Resilience - Developing strength, calm and kindness in our kids. In this session, parents will learn the psychological secrets that build their child’s sense of identity, strengths, and growth mindset in order to perform better, be happier, and build resilience. Based on Dr Justin Coulson’s best-selling book 9 Ways to a Resilient Child, this session shows parents how to help their children cope powerfully and positively with the challenges that life throws at them. This presentation is one of Justin’s most popular ones with powerful stories and illustrations that every parent can relate to. He explains the factors that help and hinder resilience, why common advice such as "toughen up Princess" just doesn't work, and how competition and praise may undermine resilience.
Please see an overview of the evening:
Date: Wednesday 31st July 2024
Location: Wynnum Manly Leagues Club
Venue: Sky View Room
Cost: Complimentary
P&F Hosted Canapes: 6.00pm – 6.45pm
Justin Coulson Presentation: 7.00pm – 8.30pm
RSVP: via this link https://forms.office.com/r/WckUButvfz
Who can attend?
Current and Future Parents and Caregivers of Guardian Angels’ students.
Please note that this is a Parents and Caregivers only event (18+).
We look forward to welcoming you.
Second-Hand Uniform Pop Up
Second-hand uniforms will be available to purchase on:
Monday 15th July 7.45am - 8.15am
&
Monday 5th August 7.45am - 8.15am
Each item is $5 cash sales only.
Please visit the Uniform Shop at Guardian Angels Campus.
Need items outside of shop times?
Please email pwynnum@bne.catholic.edu.au with what you need &
one of our amazing parent volunteers will order this for you.
Awards
Congratulations to the following students, who received a LIVE the GA Way Award at assembly.
These students demonstrate the LIVE the GA Way in all they do and say:
Olivia T, Jasper D, Calvin S, Paolo P, Summer G, Ryan A, Gabby M, Erin O, Ally T, Harrison H, Theo W, Annabelle L, Ascha W, Alistair P, Sophie M, Norah M, Max LS, Georgi G, Charles G, Amelia B.
From the Parish
Enrolments now CLOSED for this year’s Sacramental Preparation Program for the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Kindly check your emails regarding your child’s Workshop schedule.
Warm regards,
Wendy
Sacramental Program Coordinator
Wednesdays to Fridays 9am to 4pm
Email: sacraments.wynnum@bne.catholic.net.au
Guardian Angels Parish, Wynnum QLD
Phone: (07) 3393 4980
From the Community
NAB Auskick AFL program is offering a 6 week program for students in Prep to Year 3.
Please see below for registration details.