07 June 2024

Dates to Remember

Principal News

Winter Hygiene Tips for a Healthy School Environment

As the winter season sets in, it’s essential to focus on maintaining a hygienic school environment to keep our children healthy and active. Here are some key tips and practices to ensure that our students stay well during the colder months.

1. Hand Hygiene

Handwashing is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs. Encourage children to wash their hands regularly with soap and water, especially before eating and after using the restroom.

1. Covering Coughs and Sneezes

Teach children to cover their mouths and noses with a tissue or their elbow when they cough or sneeze. This simple practice can significantly reduce the spread of illnesses. Remind them to dispose of tissues properly and wash their hands afterward.

1. Clean and Disinfect

Our school staff works hard to keep classrooms and common areas clean and disinfected. Regularly cleaning surfaces like desks, doorknobs, and computer keyboards helps prevent the spread of germs. Parents can reinforce this practice by encouraging children to keep their personal items and spaces clean.

1. Healthy Eating Habits

Nutritious meals and snacks play a vital role in maintaining a strong immune system. Ensure your children bring balanced, healthy lunches to school, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and proteins. Avoid sugary snacks and drinks, which can weaken the immune system.

1. Stay Hydrated

Even in winter, staying hydrated is important. Encourage your children to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Bringing a reusable water bottle to school can help them keep track of their water intake.

1. Adequate Sleep

A well-rested child is better equipped to fight off infections. Establish a consistent bedtime routine to ensure your children get the recommended amount of sleep each night. A good night’s sleep helps improve concentration and overall well-being.

1. Proper Clothing

Dressing in layers helps children stay warm and comfortable. Make sure they wear appropriate winter clothing, including hats, gloves, scarves, and warm coats. Labelling items with their names can prevent loss and mix-ups at school.

1. Stay Home When Sick

If your child is showing signs of illness, such as a fever, cough, or sore throat, please keep them at home. This prevents the spread of germs to other students and allows your child to recover more quickly.

1. Flu Vaccinations

Flu shots are highly recommended for school-aged children. Vaccinations are an effective way to prevent the flu and its complications. Check with your healthcare provider for the best time to get vaccinated.

By incorporating these hygiene practices into our daily routines, we can work together to create a healthier school environment. Let’s make this winter season a time of wellness and learning for all our students.

Stay healthy and warm!

From the Deputy Principals

Exciting News: "Little Stars" Transition to Prep Program starts Term 4!

As we approach Term 4, we are thrilled to announce the "Little Stars" transition to prep program at Grand Avenue State School. This program is a pivotal step for our young learners, ensuring they have a smooth and successful start to their educational journey.

 Why Transition Programs are Important

Participating in a transition to school program is crucial for children for several reasons:

1. Familiarization with the School Environment: Children get accustomed to the new surroundings, making them more comfortable and confident on their first day of prep.
2. Social Skills Development: Interaction with peers and teachers helps children build essential social skills, easing the anxiety of meeting new people.
3. Structured Learning: The program introduces children to the structure and routine of school life, preparing them for the full school day.
4. Academic Foundation: Basic literacy and numeracy skills are reinforced, providing a solid foundation for future learning.

Enrolment Information

Enrolments are now open for children born between 1st July 2019 and 30th June 2020. This is an exciting opportunity for your child to embark on their educational journey with confidence and enthusiasm.

Prep Enrolment Evening

We invite all interested families to our Prep Enrolment Evening at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, 18th June. This event will provide valuable information about the prep program, the transition process, and answer any questions you may have.

How to Enrol

To enrol your child in the "Little Stars" transition to prep program, simply drop into the Grand Avenue State School office or email us at enrolments@grandavenuess.eq.edu.au. We look forward to welcoming your child to our school community and supporting their journey into prep.

Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to give your child the best start in their school life. Enrol today and be a part of the Grand Avenue family!

Year 3 Budding Artists

I had the pleasure of visiting our talented and creative artists in 3B, where I had the opportunity to see firsthand the remarkable artworks created for their assessment.

For this project, the students were tasked with planning and designing a 3D landscape artwork. They selected a variety of natural materials such as twigs, leaves and grass to bring their landscapes to life. The attention to detail and the thoughtfulness in their selections were evident in each piece, showcasing not only their artistic skills, but also their understanding of natural environments.

The students demonstrated great enthusiasm and dedication throughout the project. Well done!

Athletics Day Reminder

Mark your calendars and join us for an eventful athletics day here at Grand Avenue. This much anticipated event will take place on the following days:

Until next time,

Year 2 News

This Term, Year 2, had the privilege of going to Cooneana Heritage Centre for our excursion. We have been learning about how things have changed over time. The students enjoyed dressing up, playing old fashioned games, pretending to ride old motorcycles and even seeing how an olden day school was for students in a time before them. They also go to see how things were washed before washing machines and the layout of a house from the 1900’s. The students were engaged all day in these experiences and we excited about the activities they got to attend.

In literacy this Term, students have been learning all about natural disasters and animals, creating information reports. Everyone has enjoyed making dioramas to represent their chosen topic. Students look forward to presenting their hard work to their peers, parents and carers at the end of the term.

During playtime the Year 2 students have also enjoyed finding some grass to play on. Students are enjoying playing soccer during break.

It has been a busy and enjoyable term filled with lots of work and fun experiences for the students.

Year 2 is looking forward to athletics day and under 8’s day to finish off the term.

Year 5 News

Year 6 News

The students in 6C have been busy completing assessments the past couple of weeks, so I posed a question to them asking what have you enjoyed doing this term? Here are some of their replies.

What I enjoyed in 6c this term… learning about how mould and how it grows because it was a long process and it was gross. We found it interesting learning how computers work because we didn’t know when we get home and connect to the internet the process is actually complicated. I know more history because we made a documentary about Edith Cowan and I enjoyed learning about the past.

Detroit, Tommy and Emanueli

We have been learning many things. In English, we learned to develop an advertisement with hopes that people will be persuaded to go on holiday, this was fun but also frustrating when the advert didn’t come out as we planned. In tech, we made a scratch game and learned to code. This was also fun, our favourite part was playing the games and playing each other’s games.  We liked making the scratch game the most because making mistakes then realizing was very funny.

PK, Khai, Jafari, Benjamin

We enjoyed making a documentary in the arts about Mary Reibey and her story, but our favourite unit was tech, where we made games and played each other’s games on Scratch™. We also enjoyed going roller-skating for inter-school sports.

Jenni, Maya, Hayley, and Edie

Emanuelle: This term has been the best and I’ve made more friends than ever. I loved doing the scratch game and the documentary, I liked playing the scratch games and filming the documentary. Lesina: I loved doing the documentary with my group. I have only been at GASS for a week  and made lots of friends. Mackenziie: I liked learning about bread and how it gets mouldy because it was interesting and could help me in life.

Emanuelle, Lesina & Mackenziie

Manaia: I enjoyed the mouldy bread experiment because I like watching it grow over time.

Willow: I loved doing the scratch game because it was a new experience to me, and I now know how to create my own fun game at home and at school. Another experiment I enjoyed was the mouldy bread, where we got to watch mould grow overtime sort of like a race!

Pippi; I enjoyed the scratch game because it’s something new to me and I thought it was fun. I also love learning maths because I listen very easily and I love multiplication. I also loved doing a mouldy bread experiment because I always wondered how they got mouldy and why.

Dance Moves

The GASS Dance Troupe recently had great success at their first competition of 2024, performing at the BPAC Eisteddfod. "Let's Get Ridiculous" placed 2nd out of 10 schools, and "Party Train" placed 3rd out of 11 schools. The girls had a wonderful time and represented Grand Avenue beautifully. A highlight for all the troupe dancers was wearing their new costumes. We look forward to our next eisteddfod.

Music News

New Music Uniform

All Junior and Senior music groups will need to have the new uniform for our upcoming concerts. We aren’t wearing the white shirts and vests anymore. The new uniform requirements for all music groups are:

• Black trousers
• Black shoes (with no white parts)
• Black/Navy socks
• Black GASS Music shirt
• Tidy hair with blue hair ties

The black trousers and the new music shirt are both available at the uniform shop. Please try them on now, to see if they fit or you need to buy something new for our concert.

Fanfare Competition Music Results

Last week the Grand Avenue State School Senior Band and Senior Strings competed in the biannual Instrumental Fanfare Competition. Both ensembles played very well in their competition and everyone had a great time. Our Strings and Band groups were very excited to find out their wonderful results. Grand Avenue Senior Band received a Silver Award and Grand Avenue Senior Strings received a Platinum Award, which is the highest award possible. Congratulations to everyone who participated in the event. We are so proud of everyone’s hard work!

Sports News

Please see below for information relating to the upcoming Athletics Carnivals - 

Library News

This week we celebrated World Environment Day. There was a wonderful display in our library. There are lots of ways to celebrate World Environment Day, at home, like doing a neighbourhood or park clean-up, looking at ways to reduce waste in the house like composting or taking shorter showers, or even introducing new eating habits like vegetarian Mondays! Students have also engaged in some fun earth and environment day themed activities, and poems.

Author of the month – Pamela Allen. Books are available to borrow now!

Friendly reminder: Overdue books

As we move closer to the end of Term 2, all students are reminded to check their Library accounts.

Any long-overdue books should be returned immediately. Please return them to the Library at any time as soon as possible.

Book Club closes today. All purchases will arrive in the next couple of weeks and will be given to teacher to distribute. Thank-you for your support!

Guidance Officer News

Momentum - a digital mental health program for 7 - 17 year olds 

Momentum is a new service for 7 – 17-year-olds offering “tailored online treatment programs to help children and adolescents learn new ways to cope with feelings of anxiety and/or unhappiness”. The platform also offers information and assistance for sleep difficulties and other life style issues related to diet, screen time, exercise and substance use.

Young people who access Momentum can do so alone or with the support of a parent/carer. 

For more information and to register for the program please go to: Momentum (momentumhub.org.au)

PBL News

Premier's Reading Challenge

The Premier’s Reading Challenge has been underway for the past few weeks, and runs through until August. In order to qualify for recognition in the reading challenge, students in Prep to Year 4 need to record at least 20 books that they have read, and students in Year 5 & 6 need to record at least 15 books.

A Reader Record form was sent home at the beginning of the challenge. This needs to be completed, signed, and returned to school at the end of the challenge on 23 August, 2024.

We look forward to recognising the efforts of all of our students with a certificate from the Premier in October.

P&C News

Welcome to the latest P&C News

On the 18^th  of May, Our Executive P&C Members attended the P&C QLD 2024 Conference – Everything in PLACE! Breakout sessions focused on ways we can give every child every chance, and there was also an opportunity to network with other P&C Executives and connect with sponsors. It was a great opportunity and we are so grateful to our members and community for supporting us.

It was lovely to meet and greet all of the staff, parents and carers who were able to attend our coffee van on P&C Day!

Our Movie Under the Stars had a quick venue change due to wet weather but still went ahead in the hall. We hope all the families who attended enjoyed their night!

Important Dates to Remember:

18^th June – P&C General Meeting @ 6:30pm

21^st June – Under 8s Day

14^th August – Ekka Fun Day

If you're interested in joining the P&C, please reach out to us! We all know that many hands make light work, and it's also a fantastic opportunity to join a great group of people who strive to increase community participation and support our school.

Thanks for your ongoing support of the P&C Association!

Save the Date:

Facebook:  Like and follow our Facebook Page to keep updated with information on upcoming events. Feel free to share this with family and friends and others in our Grand Avenue Community.   https://www.facebook.com/gasspandc  

Next Meetings:  

All are welcome to attend our General Meetings. They are held the third Tuesday of the month during school term. If you would like items added to the agenda, please email p&cSecretary@grandavenuess.eq.edu.au.

Want to become a member? Membership Forms can be found on the School Website or email the Secretary above for a form.

Community Notices