16 September 2019

Newsletter Articles

Date Claimers

Principal’s Report

School Concert

What a great evening this was last Tuesday to showcase our student’s talent and to end a wonderful term. Over 400 parents and students were in attendance to enjoy class performances, small group and individual performances. Congratulations to Mr Martin, our Music teacher, who is taking Liz Shortland’s place while she is on leave. Congratulations also to all staff involved in preparing students and assisting on the night. Thank you to our P&C and tuckshop staff, lead by Gunnar, who prepared a fantastic array of meals for all to enjoy.

Free Dress Friday

This Friday the last day of Term will be a free dress day for all students.

Please note, NO GOLD COIN donation is required.

2020 Classes

Class Preference Forms Due in by Week 3 Term 4

Please ensure you have completed a class preference form in writing by Friday 25 October 2019 if you would like us to consider any educational reasons about the placement of your children in 2020. I remind parents that we are a relatively small school and most year levels have two full class cohorts. This does not allow for a great deal of flexibility around which class or teacher some requests may ask for.

All requests on time are considered but ultimately decisions are made by the school to benefit all students rather than specific individuals. We aim for balanced classes and a lot of time is put into making classes up by teachers who consider numerous factors including, academic, behavioural, social-friends, emotional, students with special needs, disabilities, physical classrooms, legitimate on time parent requests. Sorry late requests from parents will not be able to be considered. For requests to be considered they must be lodged on time on the correct form. Any request previously submitted in a past year must be resubmitted again this year if you wish the same circumstances to be considered.

Our staffing formula is based on student day 8 2020 enrolment numbers and as such it is crucial that 2020 Prep students enrol now to assist us with our class structure organisation. It is also crucial that if families are leaving next year they alert us now.

P&C Meeting – We Need You!

Our next P&C meeting will be held on Wednesday 9th October. Please come along at 6:30pm. Everyone’s ideas and support are welcome. Our Country Fair is in Week 2 Term 4 so finalising the planning of this event will be a priority. We desperately need new parents to attend our meetings. I will also be discussing in detail our School’s 2019 NAPLAN results.

Country Fair – Many Hands Make Light Work

Week 2 Term 4 - Friday 18 October

We need parents to assist on Friday 18 (set up) to help make this event run smoothly.

If you haven’t been able to assist this year this opportunity is for you.

Lots of volunteers are required so please register your availability with the office 54998333 or come to our next P&C meeting on Wednesday 9 October.

2019 Donations for Class Stalls

Donations for the following items can be dropped off to your classroom at any time.

This year as per last year we are asking all families to donate items where they are able to rather than just the class running the stall as this has left us short of donations in the past. Each week we will highlight/advertise a particular item that we need donations for, however please send in any donations of the below items at any time. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Register for Prep now! Don’t wait.

It is essential that parents who have not contacted the office to register their child for Prep in 2020 do so now. Please do not assume we know you are coming. Registration can be completed in a one minute phone call (Ph54998333) or an email to admin@malenyss.eq.edu.au.

Note: all students will require a birth certificate before commencing Prep in 2020. I look forward to meeting with you soon. If you know a family in the area that has a Prep eligible student for 2020 please encourage them to contact us immediately.

Prep Enrolment Interview Dates:

If you have not booked your Prep enrolment interview please do so as soon as possible.

Please Call 54998333 to book your 20 min interview with your child. Enrolment forms can be collected from the office or can be found on the School Web Site.

Welcome to Prep and Transition Days

Students need to be enrolled to attend our transition days on: Wednesday 30 October, 6 and 13 of November from 9:00am until 10:30am. Parents can order uniforms for students on these days. Parents must attend these sessions unless children are coming with Good Start Centre staff.

Year 7 at Maleny State High School 2020

Transition Days: Transition days for 2020 Year 7s will be held during Week 6 of Term 4 (13-14 of November).  This 2-day event will be for only those students who have submitted enrolment applications prior to these days. 

Keeping our school safe

Please keep an eye on our school over the holidays and report any suspicious activity that you may notice as unusual. It is a credit to our community that we thankfully have not experienced any of the vandalism etc. that many other schools do struggle with. This being said we realise that we must all continue to be observant and play our part collectively to ensure that this continues. A big bonus for us is that parents do not allow their children to come to the school over the weekend/holiday period and know where children are at all times. Our local police also do a wonderful job and regularly patrol our school out of hours, I very much appreciate their continued efforts.

Have a safe and relaxing holiday, I look forward to catching up in Term four.

John

From the Deputy Principal

At Maleny State School, writing is a key focus this year and the act of daily writing is an essential part of this program. Writing improves communication skills and provides a vehicle for expression and communication. No matter the age or year level writing practice will boost both student’s skill and comfort level with revealing and relating their own thoughts and feelings. Daily writing encourages a creative flow that can help students use their imaginations, explore possibilities, delve into problem solving, and engage in storytelling. Writing is essential for self-understanding as it can help students understand and make sense of their own experiences and make (sometimes surprising) discoveries about their own thoughts and feelings. When a high value is placed on consistent writing in the classroom, it's a win-win all around.

As students break for the September holidays parents can continue to encourage daily writing with in the home or while on holiday. Keeping a travel journal or diary is a great way to record special memories and reflections. The nearly forgotten art of letter writing or sending postcards to distant family members or friends is a great way to connect to significant others in our lives. Write a letter to your teacher or class to share and enjoy when school restarts again for Term 4.

‘You can make anything by writing.’ C.S. Lewis

Thank you
Kerry Lees

Students of the Week: Week 8

Highest Class Attendance for Week 8

Congratulations 3A

Students of the Week: Week 9

Highest Class Attendance for Week 9

Congratulations to 3A

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.

PBL (Positive Behaviour Learning)

Buzz Phrase

Our whole school Buzz phrase for weeks nine and ten is a Be Respectful Rule - “Be Nice, Be Quiet”. This means that students model sensible behaviour at all times. They move quietly to supervised areas, sit quietly and follow adult directions. Students are expected to be nice to others and think about treating others as they would like to be treated.

Year 4 A, 4B & 4C

Year 4 NEWS!

Over the last two weeks, the students have been presenting their historical narrative to the class. Each child chose to take on the perspective of a convict child, surgeon’s child or an Indigenous child and some students chose to dress up for their oral presentation.

All classes have been working on tightening tension in our writing. We are experimenting with set criteria – a set word count, using our senses, incorporating a designated word and starting our writing with three words. The students have completed some very impressive and descriptive writing.

In Science, the students have been conducting experiments where they are exploring properties of different materials. The assessment task involved the children looking at the different properties of ochre mixed with different binders.

We have also enjoyed watching new growth in our wicking beds. Our vegetables and salad seedling are looking very lush and we have only needed to water the beds once in a month.

The students are now designing a dipstick to measure the water levels in the beds, keeping it mozzie proof and using old and new technologies.

In technology, we are learning to use, excel spreadsheets to record the number of 10 containers we are collecting in our eating areas. Each class takes it in turn to sort and tally the containers. Poppers are scoring the highest of all containers purchased from the tuckshop. Over the last 12 weeks we have made $310 dollars and this money will be used by the Garden Club. Thank you to all the parents and students who are helping us out by using our orange wheelie bin to donate their 10 cent containers.

Caroline Hartley, Tam Johnston, Kylie Hulm, Lou Walsh & Trish Mackay

Year 5A & 5B

A-Mazeing Science

This term we have been investigating light. As part of this unit we constructed a simple maze in a shoebox with 2 walls. The challenge was then to add mirrors to help light travel from doorway 1, through the maze and exits out doorway 2. After this we filled in our assessment books, demonstrating our understanding of the properties of light (reflection, absorption and how objects can be opaque, translucent or transparent.) We have already tested our mazes using a torch as the light source. Here are some of our mazes.

Disaster Drama

Recently we also used a green screen to record Drama performances that will help to inform people on how to be prepared and how to respond to a natural disaster in the local area. Some groups prepared short videos on cyclones, bushfires and floods. Here are a few groups while they were doing their green screen recordings.

Deb Darcy & Eric Faulkner

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.

War on Waste

Garden Club Celebrates Successful Landcare Grant

Last week we received some exciting news from Landcare Australia with our grant application being approved for our Wicking Beds Garden Project. We have received $989 and this money will pay for our 8 wicking beds and all equipment needed. The year four students have put four beds in as part of their technology unit and the garden club members will set up the extra four after the holidays.

Please feel welcome to come down and visit our garden area and check out the amazing work carried out by the Garden Club members.

Our vegetables are growing well with our first cauliflower ready to pick. We are also enjoying tasting our purple snowpeas and rats tail radishes that grow above the ground off the plant stem.

Kind Regards
Lou Walsh

Chappy News

STOP PUTTIN IT OFF!

I read a very moving and thought provoking article the other day about the importance of living life to the fullest and not putting off what you can do now.

This is an excerpt from the article… In a 1985 newspaper essay, Anne Wells wrote: ‘My brother-in-law opened my sister’s bureau and lifted out a tissue wrapped package. It was an exquisite silk handmade slip; the price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. “Jan bought this the first time we went to New York…eight or nine year ago…She never wore it; she was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion.” He put the slip on the bed with the other clothes we were taking - to the mortician. Then he turned to me, “Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you’re alive is a special occasion!” Those words changed Anne Well’s life. She continued; ‘I’m not saving anything anymore. Now we use our good china…for every special occasion – like losing a kilo, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom. “Someday” and “one of these days” are fighting a losing battle to stay in my vocabulary. If it’s worth seeing, hearing or doing, I want to see, hear and do it now. I’m trying very hard not to put off, hold back or save anything that would add laughter and lustre to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes I tell myself this is a special occasion.”

WHAT’S HAPPENING…

TOTALLY EPIC HOLIDAY CLUB in the first week of the holidays. Please register at sucamps.org.au if you’re interested

GRANDPARENT’S GROUP is every Monday morning at 9am in the Ensemble/Chappy room. Please stay and have a cuppa with us

Chappy Becky

P & C News

Next P&C Meeting 9 October 2019 @ 6:30

From Our Tuckshop

The Tuckshop is open three day a week – Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

If you can help, please see Gunnar at the Tuckshop. Your support will be much appreciated.

FlexiSchools is our preferred ordering system and is simple and easy to use.

To register go to the link below:

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.

Community News

If you would like to drop the bread tags to the School Office we can organise getting them to a collection point.

Maleny Library Holiday Program

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