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Leadership Update- please note changes to our Year 3-6 Deputy Principal
2024 School Priorities- a summary of our focussed work in 2024
ACE Students- Attend, Confident, Engaged
School Attendance- every day counts
A Wondall School Day- Daily schedule
NAPLAN- Test Schedule
Phones Away for the Day-important information2025 Prep Enrolments- upcoming transition events
PBL - Wondall learners are respectful when they interact with others
Leadership Update
We wish to congratulate Mrs Pamela Kondys (Year 3-6 Deputy Principal) who will be commencing as Principal at Springwood Road State School for the remainder of Semester 1. We wish Pam all the best with this new career opportunity and know she will serve the school community well.
We are excited to welcome Mrs Amy Cocciolone back to Wondall as the Year 3-6 Deputy Principal for the remainder of Term 1. Amy is a familiar face in the school, having worked as the sector deputy last year.
Pam and Amy will both commence their new roles from Monday 19 February.
Wondall School 2024 Annual Implementation Plan
Each year, schools identify priority areas that will shape the direction of the teaching and learning in the school. Our two key priorities for 2024, are listed below and will be unpacked as we progress through the school year.
Did you know… that all students from Prep to Year 6 are taught synthetic phonics, supported through explicit instruction and decodable readers, appropriate to their learning needs!
Please see the PDF below...
ACE Students
This year we continue to focus on all of our students being ACE students. All of our staff will be working with students around the importance of attendance, building confidence and resilience and also engaging in, and owning, their own learning.
Attendance
At Wondall Heights State School we know students need to attend school regularly to achieve success in engagement and learning. Regular non-attendance has a significant impact on a student’s academic achievement, as well as their ability to make and sustain relationships with their peers. Regular absences can lead to anxiety and stress, which in turn can lead to further absence.
School staff set an example for students by encouraging attendance and punctuality. School absenteeism is monitored closely and regular contact will be made if high levels of absenteeism are detected.
It is also important to send children on time to school, with the school day beginning at 8:50am and a lot of important learning – particularly around Synthetic Phonics – being focussed upon first thing in the morning. If you are having trouble getting your child to school EVERY DAY by 8:50am, please reach out to our staff, so we can support you!
If your child is away please do the following:
- phone the office absence line 3906 6460
- email the class teacher or office (admin@wondallheightsss.eq.edu.au)
Where possible, limit appointments within school hours and schedule holidays for the school breaks.
If you ever need help with supporting your child’s attendance at school, please call the office and we can assist.
A Wondall School Day
Our school hours are 8:50am-3:00pm. Teaching and learning begins at 8:50am, please ensure students are at school and ready for learning by this time.
NAPLAN – Test Schedule
The NAPLAN test window starts on Wednesday 13 March and finishes on Monday 25 March 2024. Schools are advised to schedule the tests as soon as possible within the testing window, prioritising the first week.
NAPLAN Public Demonstration Site
Phones Away for the DayFrom the beginning of this term, The Department of Education has implemented the ‘Phones Away For the Day’ policy. At Wondall, all students with a mobile phone need to sign their phone into the office before school, and collect them again at the end of the day. Please discuss this w ith your child if they bring a phone to school and remind them of our expectations.
Just a heads up… we have some exciting Prep 2025 Transition events starting this term!
We are running a Storytime & Play Session for enrolled and waitlisted children in late February (date to be released via direct email invite). We are encouraging early enrolment, so that children have plenty of opportunities to transition throughout this year. If there are any families in the Wondall Heights SS catchment who have not yet enrolled, we urge them to do so, so they receive an invite. Families who are not in-catchment are welcome to join our waitlist and will also be invited.
We are also running a Principal’s Tour of the school on Tuesday 12 March at 4:30pm, due to numerous requests for families to tour the school. Any interested families are welcome to attend! Further Prep information sessions will be held in Term 2.
If you know of any family, friends or neighbours with Prep aged children in 2025, please feel free to share this information and the attached brochure so they don’t miss these special events.
Wondall learners are respectful when they interact appropriately with others.
Positive interactions, such as saying "please" and "thank you" and practising patience in waiting one's turn, are essential skills for fostering a positive school environment and promoting academic and social success among students. Positive interactions between students cultivate a sense of belonging and cooperation, leading to improved classroom behaviour and academic engagement. Similarly, positive interactions between teachers and students establish trust, support, and a conducive learning atmosphere, ultimately enhancing student motivation and achievement. These skills not only contribute to a harmonious school community but also lay the foundation for lifelong social and emotional well-being.
What does PBL look like at Wondall?
- At Wondall we have three school expectations: Safe, Respectful and Responsible.
- We have the mantra: Wondall learners are: Safe, Respectful and Responsible.
- Each fortnight the school has a behaviour focus. The focus behaviour is explicitly taught and positively reinforced.
- Positive reinforcement through verbal feedback, receiving Dougie Dollars and Dougie Stamps.
What are Dougie Rewards?
Behaviour is reinforced when provided with something of value following a desired behaviour. This may be verbal praise, non-verbal acknowledgement, earning of tokens, provision of tangible rewards, or opportunities to perform a task or participate in an activity.
- Dougie rewards are free and frequent reward points.
- Students receive Dougie rewards in the classroom and the playground.
- Dougie Dollars are awarded outside of the classroom. These points go towards a class total and a school total.
- Dougie Points are awarded during class time. Students who receive 50 points over a five-week period have the opportunity to participate in a rewards session. These rewards are agreed on by staff and students.
Reading in Our School
The effective teaching of reading related to the Science of Reading has been a school-wide focus for our staff’s professional learning over 2023 -2024. Last year we built the capacity of most of our Classroom and Inclusion Teachers to use a systematic synthetic approach to phonics for the teaching of decoding (reading words) and encoding (spelling), using the Sounds-Write approach. Over next week and the first fortnight in Term 2, we will have trained our three new or returning teachers in this approach. You can find more about Sounds-Write on our school website under the Curriculum tab: https://wondallheightsss.eq.edu.au/curriculum/teaching-and-learning .
The Department of Education has also made a commitment to improve the Teaching of Reading across our state, building the capacity of all teachers and teacher aides through professional learning opportunities this year and into the future. This is encompassed in the Commitment to Reading Statement.
The Department of Education and P&Cs Queensland are holding community twilights to provide information on Queensland’s Reading Commitment and supporting reading at home.
- Topic: Supporting children’s reading at home
- Dates: 21 February and 13 March 2024
- Time: 6:30pm – 7:15pm
- Audience: Parents and Carers of Prep to Year 2 students
- Registration: https://www.ivvy.com.au/event/KLCA5Y/
When registering, parents will be provided with the opportunity to submit questions they would like answered.
Later this term, we will also be holding sessions for our Early Years families about the teaching and learning of reading at Wondall Heights SS. Look out for a date claimer for this session.
Instrumental Music
Our Instrumental Music program has commenced for 2024 with the return of our IM Teacher Ms Caroline Finlay and our Senior Band students having their first lesson today.
There is always a keen interest from our students to express their interest in joining the program. Offers to join the program are based on a number of factors including (but not limited to) the completion of a musical aptitude test, assessment of student ability and suitability, the balance and blend of instruments in each ensemble and the limited number of places available in the program. Unfortunately, not all students who apply for the program can be accepted.
Offers for our successful Junior Band students to join the program will be sent home this week. Our Junior Band will be invited to begin their first lesson next week with a one-hour lesson before we begin our regular timetable in Week 6.
Senior Band rehearsals will commence next Wednesday morning from 7:50am in the Hall (please note, not in the Music Room as previously emailed, due to the space being used for Sports Aerobics on Wednesday mornings).
QParents
Invitations to sign up for QParents have been sent out to parents via email earlier this term. In some cases, parents have been invited in previous years but not signed up, in which case they may not have received an invitation for all children enrolled in our school this year. Parents already with a QParents account can add other children to their account. For further information about QParents, visit https://qparents.qld.edu.au/#/landing
| Life Education Yr 3 | 19-20th February |
| Minibeast Incursion - Prep | 5th March |
| P & C Meeting | 12th March |
| Parent Teacher Interviews | 26th March |
| Easter Bonnet Parade | 28th March |
| Good Friday | 29th March |
MINASAN YOKOSO! Everyone Welcome!
Sensei has some exciting news! This year, SENSEI will be organising three Japanese clubs:
- EXTENSION
- CHOIR
- ORIGAMI
*These clubs require parental permission. You can ask SENSEI for a permission form.
**五と六年生EXTENSION！！（View these photos！！！）
