Educational Achievement
Reading and Writing!
Goondiwindi State Primary School is excited to be participating in the Little Scribes Author Masterclass program this year. During week 4, students will have the opportunity to join live online workshops with a fantastic lineup of published Australian authors and illustrators, including Jackie French, Josh Pyke, Taylor Hampton, James Foley, Kris Darell, Dub Leffler, Meg McKinlay, Mick Elliott, Zeno Sworder, Sue Whiting, Boori Monty Pryor and Violet FitzSimons.
These interactive workshops give students the unique opportunity to hear directly from real authors and illustrators about the creative process, discover how stories are developed and published, and ask questions throughout the sessions. Alongside the live workshops, teachers and students have access to a range of high-quality writing resources that support classroom learning and encourage students to develop their creativity, confidence and writing skills.
We hope these inspiring experiences will encourage many of our students to take the next step and enter the 2026 Macintyre Young Writers' Competition, which celebrates creativity and provides young writers with the opportunity to share and be recognised for their creative writing. Entries are due in week 9 of this term.
Parent teacher interviews
Our second round of Parent–Teacher Interviews for the year will be held on Monday 10 August and Tuesday 11 August, with interview times available before and after school.
These interviews provide a valuable opportunity for parents and carers to meet with their child's teacher to discuss their child's progress and achievement so far this year. Conversations will include your child's Semester 1 report card, NAPLAN results (where applicable), current learning goals and ways we can continue to work together to support your child's success.
All interviews will be held in the School Hall, with the exception of Monday morning interviews, which will take place in your child's classroom.
We encourage all families to take advantage of this opportunity to celebrate your child's achievements, discuss their learning journey and ask any questions you may have. We look forward to meeting with you and working together to support every student's continued growth and success.
To book, click the link https://eq.sobs.com.au/pt3/parent.php?schoolid=70520 or phone the school office to make a booking on your behalf.
NAPLAN results
NAPLAN Individual Student Reports were sent home with students last week for all Year 3 and Year 5 families.
NAPLAN provides a snapshot of a student's achievement in literacy and numeracy at a point in time and is one of many assessment tools we use to monitor student learning and progress. While the results offer valuable information about your child's strengths and areas for further development, they should be considered alongside classroom assessments, teacher observations and your child's ongoing learning throughout the year.
If you have any questions about your child's NAPLAN results or would like to discuss what they mean, we encourage you to speak with your child's classroom teacher during the upcoming Parent–Teacher Interviews.
Music
Instrumental Music
Last Friday almost 90 students from GSPS and GSHS took the long journey to Brisbane to attend the Creative Generations (C Gen) performance! It was a spectacular event with literally hundreds of singers, dancers, musicians and actors from state schools all over Queensland coming together to produce a professional quality show! Our Gundy kids were immersed and wide-eyed throughout the show and represented our school and community with pride.
Thanks must go to the GSPS Music Sub-Committee for their fundraising efforts, reducing the cost to parents to experience this amazing event.
In Week 4, the Goondiwindi Apex Eisteddfod will be occurring from 3 - 8 August. Instrumental music performances are on Monday 3rd August. ALL instrumental music students will be performing at least once, with students in their second or more year of learning performing twice. More information and details will be forthcoming but please start to dig out some green socks and black shoes for your child to wear on the day.
The eisteddfod is a fantastic way of preparing pieces to a performance standard, gaining confidence in sharing music and also seeing our older musicians from Goondiwindi and surrounds performing music of a very high quality.
Classroom Music
"Playing an instrument strengthens the brain in ways no other activity can. It builds neural connections between the left and right hemispheres, boosting problem solving, critical thinking, and memory skills. Research shows that children who learn music develop stronger executive functions, helping them plan, focus, and adapt to challenges more effectively." (Bigger Better Brains)
The above benefits are echoed in the way we continue to build knowledge and skills around playing classroom instruments and use our voices to make music. We have a focus on composing this term in the music classroom with the different year levels using both classroom instruments and digital platforms to compose their own music.
As we count down to the Eisteddfod in Week 4, our two school choirs are hard at work perfecting our pieces. Both choirs have 5 pieces each and we are on track to perform them at our best on August 5th at the Community Centre.
We will be lucky enough to have a group called "Two Wheel Time Machine" from Musica Viva drop in for a concert in Week 9 of this term. We will do some pre-concert activities this term to make sure we can take advantage of the full interactive experience this concert will offer our school.
News from the Library
Premier's Reading Challenge
Our challenge is already under way, with some students already having completed their form and handed it into the library.
Parents, just a reminder that children can record their library books, levelled readers and books from SORA on their reading form. Please remind them to read every day and record their books once they finish them.
There is still plenty of time with the Challenge not ending until 28th August.
