1032 Lowood-Minden Road,MINDEN,QLD,4311,Australia

Phone: 5425 7222

Website: https://mindenss.eq.edu.au  

Email: admin@mindenss.eq.edu.au

Dates To Remember

  * Term 4  02/10/17 - 08/12/17

  * Prep Graduation from 2pm

  04/12/2017

  * Swimming - Free Play

  05/12/2017 

  * Report Cards   05/12/2017  * Whole School Assembly

  07/12/2017

  * Uniform Shop Open

 15/01/18 - 19/01/18

  * School Starts Back

  22/01/2018

From The Principal

Christmas Carnival Wrap-Up

What a fantastic night this was! It was great to see so many families enjoying our Christmas Carnival. A huge thank you to our P&C who have worked tirelessly organising the event and to all the businesses who supported us in some way whether through donations, being a stall holder or helping out

on the night. Feedback from children, families and the wider community has been very positive and we look forward to a bigger and better Carnival next year.  

Farewell to our departing staff

It is with much sadness that we say farewell to our Chappy, Mrs Hewett. Mrs Hewett has worked as Minden’s Chaplain for the past 5 years and during her time has assisted many students, parents and staff. Her contribution to our school has been significant and she will be greatly missed. We wish Mrs Hewitt all the best for the future.

It is with great sadness, and an equal measure of joy, that we announce the retirement of Linda Pocock from the staff of Minden State School. There will be generations of children in our community who have been touched by Linda’s generosity of spirit and great kindness. For many years Linda collected photographs of our students and put them together in time for their graduation ceremonies; with many a student, parent and staff tear shed as a result.  In addition working as a Teacher Aide in the

lower school, Linda also kept our Office running for large parts of each day, produced our Newsletter and provided a haven of calm in the toughest of times. Minden wishes Linda all the very best for the next part of her journey.

 

We would like to say thank you to Mrs Paula Lee for working with us this year in the Data Coach role. We wish her the best of luck with her future endeavours.

 

Staff Leave

Our PE teacher Mrs Misty Gill will be on maternity leave next year. We wish her the best of luck with her new baby and look forward to her return.

 

2018 Book Lists

These have been sent home with students this week. More are available from the office if needed. Book packs are able to be delivered to the school from Monday 15 January onward.

 

Student Resources

Over the next week, children will commence cleaning out tidy trays and folders. We would appreciate parents sending a couple of shopping bags to school for any gear that may need to go home so school bags are not overflowing. Some unused exercise books and stationery items (pencils, rulers etc) may be able to be re-used next year.

 

2018 School Leaders

There will be an announcement of our 2018 School Captains at our Whole School Assembly on Thursday 7 Dec. The leaders’ induction ceremony will take place in term one 2018 with details provided closer to the date.

 

Report Cards

Report cards will be distributed on Tuesday 5 December via email. Please ensure the office has an updated email address to ensure reports are delivered on time and to the correct person. Parents / carers should add Application.ONESCHOOL@dete.qld.gov.au to their list of safe senders to ensure report card emails are not sent to the Junk folder. Incorrect emails may delay the release of your child’s report card. Parents / carers without an email are able to request a copy from the office. Should you not receive your child’s report card via email next Tuesday, please inform Administration. Report cards are legal documents and quite often, high schools require them for enrolment. Parents of students in years 5 and 6 should consider making copies of their children’s report cards for this reason.

 

Break-Up Day Celebrations

Each class has planned their own special break-up day activities for next Thursday 7 December. Details have been sent home this week. Children are able to wear free dress (no gold coin donation) that complies with sun safety guidelines and is appropriate for the activities chosen by their class. Closed in shoes are preferred.

 

Whole School Assembly

This event will take place next Thursday 7 December from 1:00pm onwards in the Sports Centre. The Assembly will include the graduation of our Year 6 students. There will be a range of presentations along with our major GOTCHA draw and attendance Trophy. We welcome parents attending and celebrating the conclusion of another busy and successful year with us. Children are able to go home at the conclusion of the assembly.

 

Clean-Up Day

Children choosing to come to school next Friday 8 December will be able to help out with tidying up our school grounds and classrooms. We would prefer older clothes to be worn while these activities are being carried out.

 

Office Hours January 2018

The office will be open from Monday 15 January for all enquiries including uniform requests. Staff will be attending four Pupil Free Days from Tuesday 16 January through to Friday 19 January.

 

Lost Property

Parents are welcome to sort through the containers in the office at any time to reclaim items. Uncollected items are donated to charity.

 

Keep a watch on our school these holidays

Parents and students can help take care of our school by reporting any suspicious after-hours activity to School Watch on 13 17 88 or Crime Stoppers on  1800 333 000.  By keeping an eye out we can work together to create a safer school community and help to reduce vandalism, theft and arson in our school.

If you see something suspicious, please don’t intervene. Call the School Watch number and let the local police or State Government Protective Security Service deal with the matter.

Have Fun, Stay Safe

A reminder that school resumes on Monday 22 January.

On behalf of the Minden school community I wish all our families a restful and enjoyable summer break. Please take the time to reconnect with family and friends.  I look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

School Chaplain

School ChaplainWhat a wonderful evening was our school's Christmas Carnival on Friday night.  Thank you to all the P&C, staff and parents involved in the preparations and set up of this event.  It was wonderful to see the students having fun and enjoying the rides.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you as a school community for your support of chaplaincy over the past 5 years. 

It is with sadness that I let you all know that I will not be returning to Minden State School as the Chaplain in 2018.

My decision has not been made lightly and I have given it much consideration and thought.

It is time for me to move to a role closer to home so as to be able to better support my family, in particular my husband who has ongoing health issues.

I have enjoyed working at Minden and have enjoyed watching the students grow and develop into responsible young people.  I have also enjoyed working within the school and wider community.

I hope that, as a school community, you are able to continue with chaplaincy in 2018 and am sure that Sharman (Scripture Union representative) will have applicants that suit Minden and can give the chaplaincy service a new lease on life with fresh ideas of how best to support the school community, students, parents and staff.

I have included some helpful supports below and am also happy to receive emails if you have any questions or concerns for your student or yourself.

The Blooming TreasuresI have begun to organise a small group of parents to help support the garden program so that the students can keep enjoying and participating with this.

Over the school break there will be many people watering and caring for our gardens.  Hopefully by next Thursday (final assembly) we may have a few zucchinis and tomatoes to share.  The strawberries are not quite ready yet.

If you have some free time available and would be interested in joining them on the gardening days please contact me.  My details can be found at the end of my newsletter article.  I am sure they would be happy to see you.

Helpful Websites and AppsStudents of all ages can have anxiety and feelings of uncertainty and as parents it can be hard to know how to help.  Below are some helpful websites and helplines that can be accessed at anytime.  There is also apps that can be used on your own or your child's device. 

Some of these include breathing and meditation, mindful skills and also conversation skills and strategies to help build confidence within social situations.  Please see the PDF's below.

School Holiday ActivitiesOften it can be difficult to keep the children busy across the long Christmas break.  Below I have some links to activities that might keep everyone busy when school is finished for the year;

https://www.brisbanekids.com.au/things-to-do-with-kids-in-ipswich/

http://www.ipswich.qld.gov.au/about_ipswich/news_and_events/events/free-school-holiday-activities

https://www.weekendnotes.com/brisbane/ipswich/kids/

https://www.ipswichartgallery.qld.gov.au/kids/

Other options can include;

# fort building using sheets, pegs and furniture.  Leave it up for a few days, so that it can be used by the whole family, even Mum and Dad.

# chalk drawing on the concrete path or driveway, it washes off easily, but can provide many hours of entertainment (obviously supervision is important depending on the chosen location)

# a picnic in the park, pack a lunch, grab a blanket and find a shady tree in your local park.  There are even some parks that have fun water activities that are free.

# do an activity that you don't usually do with your child, swing on the swing beside them, build a shared world on Minecraft (Your child will love teaching you how to do this!), play UNO, do a puzzle together.

# visit the local library or mobile library

# cook something together

Sometimes planning a few outings can help to break up the long time away from school, but remember it's sometimes nice to stay at home and relax too.

Enjoy your holidays together!

Life is a journey, with problems to solve, lessons to learn, but most of all, experiences to enjoy.

Keep Smiling

Chappy aka Mrs Hewett

rebecca.hewett@chappy.org.au

 

Parents And Citizens Association News

Minden Christmas CarnivalThank you to everyone who came to support the Minden Christmas Carnival and everyone who supported the Mega Xmas Raffle. We hope you enjoyed the night.  We received feedback from a ride operator that our kids were very well behaved. If you have any comments or feedback, feel free to pop over to our Minden Christmas carnival facebook page and message us. We are already looking forward to a bigger and better 2018 event!

TuckshopTake a break on the last week of School and order tuckshop on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Just $5 for the meal deal. We are also running a tuckshop sellout on these days, with iceblocks at 50 cents, Breakas and juice poppers at $1 each, and Juice bombs & Glee at $1.50 each. Items will be available at first break.

School Banking

School banking has finished for the year, and we thank you for your support of this program. The P&C earns a commission on each deposit, so valuable funds are benefiting the school. Looking forward to your school banking deposits in the new year.

Uniform ShopNew stock has arrived.  If you require any uniforms, please see the admin staff in the office.  The uniform shop will be open from Monday the 15th January to 19th January (last week of school holidays).

Outside Of School Hours Care (OSHC)

Operating Hours

Monday - Friday before school opening at 6:15am and after school closing at 6:00pm.

For bookings or details please see the OSHC esucatiors, call main office (07) 4638 7965 or email admin@hallthorpesports.com.au

General School News

Assembly Gotcha Awards

Gotcha Awards

Michael, Chayse, Dean, Scarlett and

Lauchlan

Congratulations!

Classroom News

Prep News

Prep News:

*Arrival: Please encourage your child to walk themselves to the classroom in the morning. They know the routine and should be confident organizing themselves.

*Swimming: Next week is our last week. Most students are showing development of confidence and skill in the water. Now that the weather is warming up, weekends are a great time to enjoy time in the water with your child.  

*Attendance: Students are still learning, next week is a fun week including Christmas activities with practice using developing concepts. Attending everyday helps your child learn!

*Transition sessions: Prep students are enjoying spending time with their year 1 teacher. They think they are very grown up sitting at their own desk.

Pre Prep sessions: Thank you to all those parents that have helped with our Pre Prep sessions. Your help assisted our young students settle in the classroom environment. 

Christmas Carnival: Great to see so many Prep’s having fun last Friday. Students were able to have fun with their friends in a safe environment.

Prep Graduation: Keep Monday 4th of December free. Parents, Grandparents and Friends are welcome to attend. At 2pm we will have a mini ceremony celebrating our very busy and valuable year.   

Christmas Cards: We have a mail box in the

classroom. If your child brings in Christmas Cards for their friends then cards need to be placed in the mail box and given out in the afternoon.

End of year fun: We will be having a fun day on Thursday 7th December. I ask that all children bring in a pillow/bean bag and fruit to share (we will cut fruit up). The day will end with ‘whole school assembly’ at 1pm. Hope to see you at our last assembly for the year. Friday is a clean up day, students attending on Friday will be helping to clean and tidy the classroom ready for 2018! Thursday 7th and Friday 8th are free dress days (old clothes on Friday/cleaning).

*Report Cards: These will be emailed, please make sure the office has your current email.

A big thank you to all my wonderful helpers during the year. Have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year. I will see you all in 2018. 

Keep in touch…..

Thank you Mrs Williams and The Prep Students

 

Year 3

Year 3 Reflection

It’s hard to believe that 40 weeks of learning is coming to a close. I have spent some time reflecting with the children on how much they have grown in maturity, knowledge and understanding. They are rightly proud of their achievements!

Books will continue to come home in manageable quantities each day. To avoid carrying and returning the heavy Atlas and Dictionary, I will hold them at school and transfer to your child’s 2018 classroom, unless you advise otherwise.

We excitedly look forward to our first Year 3/4

sleepover camp. We have scheduled some interesting and varied activities for the children to enjoy as they begin to develop further independence.

It has been a wonderful opportunity getting to know this terrific group of children. Their openness and warmth has been humbling. Likewise, I am equally appreciative of the overwhelming support I have received from all parents in this partnership of learning.

I hope you all enjoy a very peaceful, healthy and happy Christmas and holiday period and look forward to seeing you and your children in 2018.

Mrs Elise Utz

Year 1

WHAT A CRACKER OF A YEAR!

To top off such a fabulous year, both 1C and 1H braved Brisbane City.  First we caught a bus to South Bank and then wandered around before having a little play on the super cool playground.  We got to buy an icecream and then catch a City Cat to Riverside (some of our first times on a boat).  We then braved Queen Street Mall with the bustling crowds and made our way to King George Square where we saw the huge Christmas tree being decorated.  After this, we walked to Anzac Square War Memorial where we saw the eternal flame and then crossed over the street into Central Station where we caught a train all the way back to Goodna.  

It was a very exciting day walking and exploring and always looking up and around at some of the amazing things in the city.  When we got back to school we were all completely exhausted and ready for home...But what an amazing experience we had!!

A huge shout out and thank you to all the parents that supported us on the day - your help was appreciated and we couldn't have done it without you!

Penny, Leticia & Kyle, Natasha, Karen, Kylie B, Kylie G, Amanda, Maria, Jason & Megan, Karina & Shaun, Tara, Sharon, Emma, Christine, Robert and of course our Teacher Aide Mrs Riggs!  

Thank you all for a wonderful year! Looking forward to next year.

Love Ms Cornwall and Ms Hughes

Curriculum Awards

Prep

Special Awards:

Jaxon - Jaxon is working on self control, learning to 'Bounce Back'.

Saxon - Saxon enjoys helping in the classroom.  He helps with classroom jobs each day.

Markhai - Markhai is working on making better choices in the classroom.  Helping him to listen and learn.

Madison - Madison is practicing self control, she is beginning to enjoy learning tasks.

Faith - Faith is enjoying swimming, her confidence is developing.

Kieran - Kieran is always ready to learn, he works hard.

Jasper - Jasper is always ready to learn, he has lots of great ideas.

J-Lea - J-Lea is always ready to learn, she puts a lot of effort into each task.

Jada - Jada is always ready to learn, she does a great job!

Eloise - Eloise is always ready to learn, she enjoys a challenge!

 

Year 1H

Special Awards:

Heidi - For displaying excellent respectful listening during our reading roster, well done Heidi!

Lincon - For being a helpful member of our classroom, well done Lincon!

Leon - For becoming more confident in swimming and giving it a go!  Well done Leon!

Alexander - For displaying beautifully neat handwriting ready for Year 2, well done Alexander!

Evie - For demonstrating fantastic behaviour choices in the classroom, well done Evie!

Ryder - For being a responsible member of our classroom and following instructions the first time, well done Ryder!

 

 

 

Year 1C

Special Awards:

Eden - For showing a keen interest in reading groups and wanting to learn more!

Layla -  For showing a keen interest in reading groups and wanting to learn more!

Parker - For showing a keen interest in reading groups and wanting to learn more!

Scarlett - For showing a keen interest in reading groups and wanting to learn more! 

Charlotte - For always trying her best at everything!

Hunter - For showing great improvement in your reading!

Layla - For being responsible, respectful and always ready to learn!

 

Year 2

Special Awards:

Dakoda - Dakoda is always on task and trying her best.  Great effort!

Amber - Amber has created a fantastic new event for English.  Well done!

Seth - For always participating well in classroom discussions and working independently in small groups.

Olivia - For always working hard on independent Math tasks.  Great to see!

Zahlee - For being a role model student!

Piper - For always being friendly and kind to her peers!

Connor - For working harder in reading groups.

Year 3

Special Awards:

Kylah - For coming to school every day with a

cheerful attitude, ready to learn.  Great to see!

Michael - For doing your best during your poetry assessment and persevering in your maths assessment.

Matthew - For having a fantastic attitude to your learning, every day.  You are a valuable class member.  Well done!

Amy - For showing persistence when writing your poem, keep up the good choices!

Charlee - For not giving up on finding suitable rhyming words when writing your poem.  Great choices!

Jackson - For showing improvement in your work ethic and focus.  Keep it up!

Year 4

Special Awards:

Chevy - Trying hard in History.  Nice work!

Emma - For working hard on your spelling words.

Jacob - For consistently being resposible and ready to learn.

Keely - For always trying your hardest in all learning areas.  Keep it up!

Birthdays

 

Jaxon, Hayley, Lillie, Mia, Reagan, Brooklyn,

Thomas, Siennah, Jayden, Eloise, Tae Il, Nataliha, Jessica, Connor, Penelope, Elliehyenna, Saxon, Seth, Sienna, Joshua and Kelsey

Happy Birthday from everyone at Minden State School!