Year 6 Market Day Preparations

As a part of the Year 6 Business and Economics inquiry unit, students are applying their knowledge and skills to develop their own business and product. As a part of this task students have to design, cost, produce and market their product and then sell it at the Market Day.

The students have been very busy sourcing products, comparing and calculating costs and have now begun construction of their products. We are looking to hold our Market Day in the Final Week of Term Three.

Keep an eye out for the business promotional flyers that will have further details the products offered for sale and the sale date.

Mr Aaron Bakker

YEAR 6 TEACHER

7 Feet Tall!

Did you know that we are all 7 feet tall? Well seven of our own feet that is. Last week in Mathematics, the Year 2 class were set a mission to prove or disprove this statement.

First we traced around our feet to make a template, then we used chalk to carefully and accurately stack up 7 of our feet on the pavement.

Lastly we lay next to our feet and got our partner to take a photo so that we could easily see our length. As it turns out, most of us were approximately 7 of our own feet tall.

Mrs Laurinda Kadel

YEAR 2 TEACHER

Year 1 Red and Year 1 Blue travelled back in time when they visited the Childers Historical Complex and Paragon Theatre in Childers last Thursday 2 September.

During our visit the lovely volunteers at the Historical Complex showed us through an old post office and blacksmith stable, a general store, a cottage, and an old school room. We enjoyed seeing all the objects from the past and were amazed to find out that a long time ago a family of 14 people actually lived in the very small cottage they had there.

While at the complex we enjoyed playing on an old steam train and Mrs Jones organised some old school games for us to play, which included quoits, elastics, hopscotch and a frisbee.  We were also very blessed to meet volunteer Lachie who made old style skipping ropes using a machine from the past. Lachie was very generous and allowed each child to make their own skipping rope to take home.

After the complex our next stop was our visit to the Paragon Theatre and one of our most favourite parts of our excursion. During our time at the Paragon Theatre, we enjoyed eating a Mammino’s vanilla ice-cream and watching two old children’s cartoons in the restored 1927 theatre.

A wonderful day was had by all!

Ms Emilie Matuschka and Mrs Samantha Jones

YEAR 1 RED AND YEAR 1 BLUE TEACHERS

Uniform Fitting Appointments

Uniform fittings will be available during the school holidays for our current Prep families in preparation for Year 1 next year. Due to current restrictions, uniform fittings will be by appointment only. Appointments will be available on Monday 27 September and Tuesday 28 September 2021 between 9.00am to 3.30pm. Please call the office on 4132 6888 to schedule your child’s fitting.

Should you not require a fitting, please submit your completed uniform order by no later than 3.00pm on Friday 15 October 2021. Parents will be contacted when the uniform order is ready for prompt payment and collection.

The uniform shop recommends keeping uniforms unwashed and with tags to allow for exchange should your child grow over the summer holidays.

Please note that uniform fittings will be limited to 3 attendees per uniform fitting. We also require all attendees to scan the QR Code upon arrival and use the provided hand sanitiser before entering the administration building. Each appointment is 20 minutes in duration; please ensure that you are on time as appointment times cannot be extended.

We will be unable to hold a uniform fitting if you fit any of the following criteria:

• If you, or anyone in your household has been diagnosed with COVID-19
• If you or anyone in your household has been unwell and/or have had symptoms related to COVID-19 (fever, coughing, sore throat, sneezing)
• If you have been in contact with anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19
• If you or anyone in your household is self-isolating, for example, because they have travelled recently
• If you have travelled interstate in the last 14 days

If you have any questions regarding uniforms, or if you would like to arrange a uniform fitting appointment, please phone the school on 4132 6888 or email school@stjohnsbundaberg.qld.edu.au during office hours for assistance.

Grace and Peace

The Uniform Shop Committee

Student Awards

ICAS

Well-done to all students who participated in the recent ICAS assessments. Once results are released parents will be notified. It was lovely to see the students support each other before and after the tests and give it their best shot.

HOMEWORK

You should have received notification earlier this week from your child/ren’s classroom teacher that we have now ceased homework for Term 3. This decision was made in alignment with previous years during our musical rehearsal lead up, to finish homework just one week early.  The students are working very hard on their performances, and many are getting to the end of term tired.

HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES

I would encourage all families to read together during the upcoming holidays. Choose anything at all to read; comics books, novels, lego instructions, research, food packets, recipes or a book from our recent school Book Fair! Remember, reading can be anything anywhere – not just books ????

Build and create together. You might like to do this outside with sticks and safe items from the shed, sandcastles at the beach, box collage, a cubby under the dinner table or matchstick/paddle pop creations. These activities help children learn problem solving and resilience with tasks along with promoting creativity and curiosity. The holidays are a perfect time to persevere with these activities when we have a little extra time.

Most importantly, enjoy some family time together.

Jocelyn Bakker

DIRECTOR OF LEARNING AND TEACHING

The Butterfly Story

I spent some of last week at a Lutheran schools principal’s meeting . There were many great discussions across the three days, but one that resonated was related to the concept of resilience, and how we as educators and parents have to let our students experience challenges that allow them to build character. This concept was presented through a simple, yet effective story, which follows:

Once a little boy was playing outdoors and found a fascinating caterpillar. He carefully picked it up and took it home to show his mother. He asked his mother if he could keep it, and she said he could if he would take good care of it.

The little boy got a large jar from his mother and put plants to eat, and a stick to climb on, in the jar. Every day he watched the caterpillar and brought it new plants to eat.

One day the caterpillar climbed up the stick and started acting strangely. The boy worriedly called his mother, who came and understood that the caterpillar was creating a cocoon. The mother explained to the boy how the caterpillar was going to go through a metamorphosis to become a butterfly.

The little boy was thrilled to hear about the changes his caterpillar would go through. He watched every day, waiting for the butterfly to emerge. One day it happened; a small hole appeared in the cocoon and the butterfly started to struggle to come out.

At first the boy was excited, but soon he became concerned. The butterfly was struggling so hard to get out! It looked like it couldn’t break free! It looked desperate! It looked like it was making no progress!

The boy was so concerned he decided to help. He ran to get scissors, and then walked back (because he had learned not to run with scissors). He snipped the cocoon to make the hole bigger and the butterfly quickly emerged!

As the butterfly came out the boy was surprised. It had a swollen body and small, shrivelled wings. He continued to watch the butterfly expecting that, at any moment, the wings would dry out, enlarge and expand to support the swollen body. He knew that in time the body would shrink and the butterfly’s wings would expand.

But neither happened!

The butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shrivelled wings.

It never was able to fly.

As the boy tried to figure out what had gone wrong his mother took him to talk to a scientist from a local college. He learned that the butterfly was SUPPOSED to struggle. In fact, the butterfly’s struggle to push its way through the tiny opening of the cocoon pushes the fluid out of its body and into its wings. Without the struggle, the butterfly would never, ever fly. The boy’s good intentions hurt the butterfly.

As our sons and daughters go through school, and life, keep in mind that struggling, experiencing difficulty, and making mistakes is an important part of any learning growth experience.

Sometimes, as parents, it is easy to snip open the cocoon to allow the butterfly to fly early.

But in fact, it is the struggle that causes them to develop their ability to fly.

Book Week Celebrations

A hearty thanks to all for what proved to be a wonderful week of celebrations. Particularly, I thank Billie-Jean Anderson for her organisation of Book Week, as well as the many parent and staff helpers during the course of the week.

 NAPLAN

We have only just received some information from QCAA regarding NAPLAN data. Mrs. Bakker and myself along with relevant teaching staff are currently analyzing the data and will arrange for dissemination to families, soon.

Musical Concert

It is with great excitement and anticipation that we await the ‘big night’. Next Thursday night, 16 September is the one and only showing of our musical production, ‘When I Grow Up’. In advance of that night I offer my sincere thanks to all involved – staff and students. Particularly I thank Mrs Di Mac for her overall coordination of the production as well as her support crew of Ms. Matuschka, Mr. Rewald and Mrs. Evans. A great opportunity for all of our children.

Term 3 Holidays

As this is the final newsletter for the term, I offer my heartiest thanks to all in our community for your continued support of our school.

I pray blessings and travel mercies for you all and look forward to seeing you return in Term 4.

Grace and Peace

Chris Mallett
PRINCIPAL