11 December 2018

Newsletter Articles

Date Claimers

Principals Report

2018 Another Magic Year at Maleny

I am amazed at the improvements we are continually making each year and put this down to the willingness and enthusiasm of our staff, students and school community. Our priority of focusing on Writing was once again very successful seeing some huge gains right across the school in this area. On a whole our students have achieved fantastic academic, social and behavioural outcomes this year.

Our wonderful P&C have had a very productive year adding in a number of new ideas, the most successful being our inaugural Fun Run and Children designed Shopping Bags. Stay tuned for our Christmas Card line next year. Our P&C continually motivate me to be on the lookout for ways of improving our school that will benefit our students. 2019 will be a great year to become a member with a few other initiatives already being spoken about. Keep an eye out for our first meeting. I am excited about 2019 and can guarantee we will continue to be student and community focused.

Ryan and Seanna Shine at National School Sports Track and Field Championships

Last week Seanna and Ryan returned from 3 days of competing in the National School Sports Track and Field Championships held in Melbourne.

Ryan had the great honour of being chosen as the Queensland Team Captain and leading the large Queensland Team into the stadium. After 3 days of competition Ryan achieved 2 Gold Medals for Discus and Long Jump, a Sliver for the 100m and 2 Bronze Medals for Shot Put and the 12 years Relay Team. In addition to Ryan’s successful medal haul he also broke 3 School Sport Australian Records in the 12 year old boys multi class Long Jump, Discuss and 100m.

Seanna also had a very successful championship and was rewarded for her efforts collecting a Bronze Medal for Long Jump and a Silver medals for Relay. Remarkably Sienna also broke a record in Long Jump.

Most of the events were streamed live online and I must admit I was extremely excited and so very proud to be able to watch Seanna and Ryan competing and being rewarded for their efforts. Well done Ryan and Seanna, to compete at a National level is a dream for most people however to be successful at this level is simply incredible. We congratulate you both and wish you further success in the future which we will all follow with interest.

Over this year both students attended the State School Sports Championships in Cairns and Seanna also competed in Adelaide at the National Swimming Championships. I congratulate both families for being so supportive of your children’s interests as attending such events and lead up competitions is quite expensive. I would like to thank the Maleny State School P&C and Aspirations4Kids in Sport Ltd (an independent organisation which is chaired by Ian Healy and partnered by RACQ) for their financial assistance to support both Seanna and Ryan helping them to achieve their dreams.

Winners of Sunshine Coast Council Film Competition

Our proud winners of the Sunshine Coast Councils ‘War on Waste’ Film Competition were presented with their plaque and prize of a school ‘Buddy Bench’ on assembly last week. Thanks to the inspiration of Lou Walsh our magnificent and passionate year 3 teacher this group are showing up in all local papers and now feature on our Sunshine Coast Council web site. They are truly an inspiration and are excellent role models of teaching how to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Our future is in great hands with students like this that can turn ideas into action and are making a real difference to our environment by changing our habits.

Country Fair

Our 2019 Country Fair was an extremely successful event. A big thank you to our P&C who ran this annual event along with the support of all our staff. To run such an event is an enormous effort and relies heavily on sponsorship and donations from many. We are enormously grateful to our parents, community businesses and major sponsor Re/Max.

Thank You to our Volunteers

Last week we enjoyed a beautiful morning tea with 50 of our 160 school volunteers. Volunteers assist in the important areas such as reading, swimming, tuckshop, LAP (Learning Assistance Program) tutoring, arts, classroom help, religious education, excursions, camps, P&C activities, sporting teams, mentoring and a host of other activities on a daily basis.

All volunteers who attended the morning were treated to spectacular views (be they a little smoky this year), a delicious morning tea and lovely messages of appreciation from the Maleny School Captains and a huge hug in the form of a card from students. Our volunteers provide us with an important connection to our community, which I see as a vital part of Maleny’s culture. In 2019 we will look to foster and increase this important relationship between our school and the wider Maleny community. A huge thank you to Trish McKay who coordinated this event.

Anyone interested in becoming a much valued volunteer in 2019, can contact the school on 54998333.

2019 Welcome Back to School (Tea and Tissues)

School Commences on Tuesday the 29 January 2019 at 8:50am. Please ensure your children have their required equipment from their appropriate book list to ensure they enjoy a successful start to the year. The P&C will host a morning tea at the Hall for all parents at 8:45am. We see this as an important time for our community to welcome brand new parents to our school who have not yet made any friendship connections and for old friends to catch up. Please take advantage of this opportunity to enjoy a free tea/coffee and catch up with some old/new faces after you have dropped your children off.

Attendance

Our current attendance for the year is 92.3%. Children are expected to attend every day this week including Friday. Please ensure you call the absentee line if your children are away, especially Friday this week. The additional work caused by parents that do not do so puts incredible pressure on office staff at a very busy time of year.

2019 Date Claimers

• Meet and Greet Teacher Class Sessions - week 2 (Timetable will be advised in week 1)
• Welcome Banquet – Friday 8 Feb, week 2, 3:30pm - 5:00pm.
• Leadership Badge Ceremony Year 6 – Friday 8 Feb, week 2 at 9:00am.
• Parent Teacher Interviews week 4 commencing 18 Feb – 22 Feb, register online in 2019.
• Swimming Commences all year levels – 4 Feb, week 2
• Swimming Carnival 9 – 12 Years old – Wednesday 13 Feb, week 3
• Glasshouse District Swimming Carnival Beerwah – Tuesday 19 Feb, week 4
• Classroom Volunteers and LAP Tutors Information Sessions - Thursday 14 Feb, week 3 9:00 - 10:00
• RI volunteers Induction - Thursday 14 Feb, week 3 11:45 – 12:30
• GRIP Leadership Yr 6 students Thursday 21 Feb, week 4

Class Formation 2019

One of our most important and difficult tasks at this time of year, is devising our school’s class structure and staffing for 2019. The reason it is difficult is due to the fact of uncertainty around exact enrolments. New families are still enrolling in all grades at our school (and will continue to do so until the start of next year) and some families depending on employment and sale of properties etc. may be leaving us. Our school is staffed on a set allocation according to student enrolment numbers calculated on day 8 of 2019. Hence estimates and predictions need to be made now for organisational purposes but may need to be adjusted next year. Ideally we aim to put a structure in place that will remain the same over the Christmas break. It is for this reason that we hold off as long as possible in releasing our 2019 class structure. Last Friday we told students their classes for 2019. This flowed very smoothly and helps to reduce student anxiety. Teachers have spent a considerable amount of time making sure that these classes are composed with a balance of factors in mind, including parent preferences. There are many variables involved and the change of just one student can have a domino effect that affects other students and the balance of the class. Now that classes are formed, there will be no room for changes to be made. Please respect this process. As parents the best skill we can assist our children to develop is resilience, which means facing issues rather than avoiding them.

Black Shoes – White Socks

Please ensure your children help to make our school look and feel great in 2019. It is an expectation EVERY STUDENT in every year level will have BLACK SHOES (joggers) and WHITE SOCKS to commence the year. Navy shorts/skirt/skorts not denim pants or jeans are also expected to be worn.

We want your old Uniforms, Hats and Black shoes

If your child is leaving this year or has grown out of their school, sports shirt, hat, shoes, jumper etc. and they are in good condition please consider donating them back to the school. Please drop cleaned uniforms at the office. These will assist some of our families greatly and also assist us to ensure everyone has access to a school uniform.

P&C Uniform Shop 2019 Opening Times

Mon 21, Wed 23, Fri 25 Jan 8:00am - 10:00am

Volunteers are required to assist in selling uniforms. Please leave a message for Corinne at the office if you can help. Corinne is organising helpers for these days.

Remember all helpers are volunteers giving up their holiday time to assist families get organised for the start of the year. I very much appreciate their extra efforts at busy times of the year to accommodate our new and existing families. Please show your appreciation with a smile and a thank you.

Tuckshop 2019

Once again tuckshop will open 3 days from start of Term 1 next year – Tuesday/Thursday/Friday.

This means Tuckshop will be available on the first day of Term.

If you can volunteer next year please see the office or get in touch with our convenor, Gunnar at the Tuckshop.

Year 6 Graduation and Farewell

Our special Graduation Ceremony for year 6 students is on this Tuesday beginning at 9:30am, followed by a morning tea starting at approximately 10:30 am. Students are required to wear full school uniform for this event and bring a plate of healthy food for the morning tea. Students from years five will also attend this ceremony. We encourage parents of year six students to attend if possible.

Our Year Six Graduation Dinner is at Tranquil Park. The event starts at 6pm on Tuesday December 11. It is strongly recommended that parents and students sit together during the meal, as the main purpose for this event is for you to spend time with your child on this special occasion. We request that the students remain within the venue once they arrive.

It is always a proud moment to farewell our year six students. I wish all of our students the best at High School and for the future. We will also sadly miss many of our year six mums and dads, grandparents and guardians who, over the last six or more years, have been a great asset to our school in many different capacities. Thank you also to our School Leaders, Sports Captains, Music Captains and Student Council representatives for showing such initiative and enthusiasm in their roles within the school this year.

School Reports

Students should receive their Semester Two report on Wednesday. Please discuss your child’s progress with them and seek any clarification if required with your child’s teacher. Remember a ‘C’ academic rating means your child is achieving the outcomes expected of a child at their year level. The majority of children will generally fall within this rating.

P & C Thank You

Thank you to our P&C who have contributed so much to our school this year. A special thanks to our P&C executive who have continually sacrificed their time to ensure our school is forever improving and our students gain the benefits. Thank you also for the tremendous work done by our Tuckshop Convenors, Uniform Shop, Mother’s and Father’s Day, Movie, Disco, Shopping Bags, BBQ, Fun Run, Country Fair, Musical Coordinators and our behind the scenes busy Book Club Coordinator.

A Wonderful Maleny Team

As this is the last Newsletter for the Term, I would like to acknowledge and extend my sincere thanks to the great school team of staff behind me. This is my fifth year at the school and I am excited that each year we have been able to build on continuing to make improvements on the last. In 2019 you will see our major focus continue in the area of writing and special attention will be given to Grammar throughout the school. Thank you to all staff for a tremendous 2018 and the positive contributions you have made to our school and each and every student every day.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Enjoy the festive season with your family and have a safe and relaxing break. I look forward to seeing everyone in the New Year. Thank you for keeping an eye on our school over the holidays by reporting any suspicious activity on Ph131788

John

From the Deputy Principal

Daily Rapid Reading Volunteers for 2019

I am seeking at least 2 volunteers to facilitate a Daily Rapid Reading Program in 2019 to a number of classes. Each volunteer would need to be able to be available for 4 mornings from 9:00-11:00, Monday through to Thursday and commit to this for the year. As a Daily Rapid Reading Program volunteer you would be trained by me to facilitate the program. If you are interested or would like to know more information about the program, please ring me, Paula, on Ph5499 8333.

After School Playground Safety

No students should be playing on ovals or playground equipment after school. Teachers are unavailable to do playground duties after school to prevent accidents occurring and to keep our children safe. We also ask that parents assist us in ensuring that children are not playing on the equipment or the ovals after school.

2019 School Leaders

We congratulate the following year 5 students who have been successful in gaining leadership positions in 2019.

Lost Property

Please check lost property again for any items that may have been misplaced this past term.

Final words for 2018...

Enjoy a wonderful time with your children over this holiday break – remember to enjoy a love of reading and writing together if the weather is too hot outside to face. Have a safe and great holiday with your families and I look forward to seeing you again in the new year!

Paula Heiniger
Paula Heiniger – Deputy Principal

Contact Details – Do we have your most up to date contact details?

There are times when we may need to contact parents and carers. Do we have your most up to date contact details? If not, please contact the school on 5499 8333 so we can update our records. These details include parent/carers’ name, address, phone numbers, email address and emergency contact details. Please remember to contact the school if any of these details change.

Prep A & B

At Prep we have been working on being a kind friend. We brainstormed the many different ways we could be kind and how being kind to others makes us feel? We have also enjoyed transitioning to the junior playground and the preppies have learnt all the rules and routines of the playground and eating areas. This will help us as we enter the 2019 school year as Year 1 students. What a great year we have had at Prep. Thank you to all our many volunteers/parents who have helped in our classrooms each week. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe holiday. Come back and visit us next year.

Mandy Bauer (Prep A) & Lindy Hicks (Prep B)

Year 1A & 1B

Transition to Year 2

Thank you to all parents and year 1 students who have taken like ducks to water, to sitting waiting quietly before school in their class lines, carrying their own bags up, unpacking their belongings etc. Even with only days left of school, we are still working hard every day and the independence that students are showing has been encouraging. They are certainly ready for year 2!

End of Term Celebration

1A and 1B Class Celebrations will be held this Thursday, 2nd last day of term 4. Further information will be sent home regarding food and end of year pack up. On behalf of the year 1 team, we have thoroughly enjoyed our time with your students this year and wish them the very best in 2019.

Jo Dykes and Jeanette Vergens

Year 2A & 2B

2A are still working hard and doing lots of learning as the year begins to wind down. They have been writing lots of lovely stories and we can really see the improvement in their writing skills from the start of the year. They have the best imaginations!

The children have been enjoying their swimming lessons and have learnt much-valued skills for safety in and around the water.

Year 2B have farewelled Libby Ferguson early in Week 8 and have been receiving regular updates from her trip to Alaska via Mr B-C who is replacing her. Video clips of deep powder snow and tales of waking to an earthquake shaking their beds have not daunted their intentions to complete their letters to Santa that Libby will pass on at the ‘North Pole’.

In these final weeks the class have been continuing their daily writing, reviewing their number facts and applying their knowledge of 3D and 2D shapes to design and engineer bamboo constructions with sweet potato ‘welding’. They are also preparing their water and air powered rocket constructions using recyclables ready for the launch day on the oval this week.

They are looking forward to finally presenting their singing performance of the Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’ with Will Audley as the first item on Tuesday’s final assembly - unfortunately cancelled at the last minute in Week 9, with apologies to those parents and friends who came along then.

End of Term Party

2A and 2B will be celebrating the end of 2018 school year with class parties to be held on the last Thursday of Term 4.

We have had a wonderful year with our year 2 cohort and wish them all the best for 2019!

Sarsha Anthony, Jean Penny & Libby Ferguson

Year 3A, 3B & 3C

Presenting Our Poetry

The Year 3’s have been busy writing their own poem using their senses after listening to the poem, Desert Community. This week, the students have been presenting their adaption to this poem to their peers in an oral presentation. It has been amazing to see the students being so descriptive and expressing emotions.

Beach Haven

On the soft silky sandy dunes
Under the brilliant bright full moon
I can see....
Night crabs on the beach
The lovely moon on the horizon just kissing the waves
Little holes where crabs live
The froth on the waves look like a soft drink can that has burst.

I can feel...
Sand squelching between my toes
The cool breeze against me
The night crabs nibbling my toes
Branches from the trees

I can hear....
The wind in the trees rustling
The waves hitting against the rocks
Children playing in the waves
In their fancy swimming frocks

I can taste...
The salty sea in my mouth
A bit of chip from lunch
A delicious morsel of a scrumptious brunch
I love the beach, it makes my senses come alive.
Grace

3C has been busy learning to complete a portrait expressing emotion with Maggie Walsh and WOW what a great result!

Emma Back, Anne Coogan, Trish Mackay & Lou Walsh

WAR ON WASTE – GREAT LEAP FORWARD!!

This week on parade Sandie Johnston from the Sunshine Coast Council presented our Waste Warriors with their award for winning the Sunshine Coast Council War on Waste Film Competition. We are so proud of Cam, Will, Indi, Ranger, Jesse and Zac for their fantastic effort in creating their films for the competition showing our school’s great leap forward with our War Against Waste. Our whole school has achieved great things this year to create positive changes for the future with recycling.

Kind Regards Lou Walsh

Students of the Week: Week 7

Highest Class Attendance for Week 7

Students of the Week: Week 8

Highest Class Attendance for Week 8

P & C News

It’s been a big finish to the year with a successful Country Fair, thanks to support of the school staff and the many volunteers who made it a great afternoon and evening. After the disappointment of postponing the event, it was very rewarding to see so many families enjoying the rides, entertainment and food. Thank you all for supporting this event which has raised essential funds for the P&C to support projects and initiatives for our students in 2019.

As this is the last newsletter for 2018, I would like to extend my thanks to the School Staff for your dedication and hard work in 2018. Your commitment has seen another year of very good results for the school in NAPLAN, a fun filled musical, active participation in sports and academic competitions, a flourishing school gardening program and many other enriching and rewarding learning experiences for Maleny State School students. On behalf of the Parents of the school, our sincere thanks and best wishes for a well-deserved holiday.

Thanks also to all the parents and school community who have provided so much support to the school and students throughout the year – whether volunteering for fund raising, an hour to read or support an activity, the tuckshop, swimming lessons, uniform shop, excursions, sports day or myriad of other ways you help. You make it safer, more individual and tailored, more varied and enriching. Thank you all.

Best wishes for a safe and happy festive season

Merrick Ilett
P&C President

From the Office

Payments

Payments can be made by any of the following methods.

1. Directly into our bank account noting the invoice number, initial and surname of the student for whom you are paying. Our Bank account details are:
   BSB: 064-462 Account Number: 10080359
2. Credit card using the bPoint reference number that is located on the bottom left hand side of your invoice. Credit card payments can also be made in person at the office.
3. Cash and cheque can be made by placing the cheque/correct change in a payment envelope and depositing it into the drop-safe in the office. Please ensure that the envelope is sealed so the cash does not fall out. Please write the student’s name, class, amount enclosed and what the payment is for, clearly on the envelope.

Office hours are 8:00am to 4:00pm on Monday - Friday.

Uniform Shop

If you have one hour per month that you may be able to help us out in the Uniform Shop please contact the office on 5499 8333. Open from 8:30-9:30am on Fridays, bring along a friend and be part of our happy team

The Uniform Shop's regular hours are Friday mornings between 8.30am and 9.30am. Payment options are EFTPOS, cash or cheque at the uniform shop only. Alternatively, orders can be placed online at the link below by 5pm Wednesday for Friday pickup or class delivery.

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