16 February 2021

Newsletter Articles

Date Claimers

Timetable for Maleny State School Swimming Program for Term 1, Weeks 2 - 9

Principal’s Report

Our primary focus this year is English.

Our P&C endorsed our collaboratively developed Annual Improvement Plan at our first meeting of the year last Wednesday. A finalised copy, once endorsed by our Region, will be available on our website soon.

We are extremely confident in the systems that our school currently has in place for the teaching of English in our school, our focus is now implementing our systems and processes with ‘Precision’.

Our school performance targets are aligned with North Coast Regional targets.

• 90% of students achieving a ‘C’ or better in English, Maths and Science.
• 50% of Students receiving A-B in English, Maths and Science.
• Zero gap between achievement of all students and students with a disability, indigenous students and Children in Care.
• Zero Student Disciplinary Absences (SDA’s) in Prep.
• 95 % Attendance

We will continue to utilise the skills of our literacy coach Brent Heiniger and additional support of teacher aides to assist teachers and students. All students will have an individual English goal set by their teachers and we encourage parents to talk to teachers to find out how they can assist their children to improve their English skills.

In 2014 - 15, our school focus was on reading. We have achieved excellent results and, more importantly, have been able to continue to sustain and improve on these results seven years later.

In 2016 we commenced our writing journey (with a focus on punctuation in 2018, grammar in 2019 and spelling in 2020) achieving excellent results and embedded systems in place for teaching writing systematically throughout the school. We have been able to share our teaching practices and systems with many other interested schools over the last few years.

Major successful strategies utilized:

• Development of explicit, engaging and consistent school processes in how we teach reading and writing.
• Employing a fulltime Literacy Coach to assist in building staff capacity through coaching and professional development.
• Highly skilled and competent teacher delivery of literacy practices.
• Analysing and using data to inform teaching practices.
• Focusing additional teacher aide (partly P&C funded) support on lower school students.
• Targeted use of financial and human resources.
• Engaging parents and our local community in writing events including: Local Authors Visits - ‘Writing Round Up’ and ‘Maleny Writers Trail’ (throughout our town).
• Showcasing students work and celebrating their success.

Leaders Induction Ceremony

Congratulations to all of our Year 6 students who received leadership badges last Friday. A special mention must go to our newly appointed school captains, Molly and Eli, along with Vice Captains, Ebony and Samson, who all spoke beautifully to a full assembly of parents and students.

As part of my leadership speech to students on Friday, I highlighted our school vision of ‘Connected Learners, Creative Leaders’ and our school values.

Students at Maleny SS have a connection to:

• Themselves,
• their school community,
• their local community
• and the wider global community.

We promote that students will make strong relationships within each of these communities and know, if they do this, they will be successful.

Maleny students are also connected positively to their learning, their environment and technology, hence the first part of our vision - Connected Learners.

We want our students not only to be Connected Learners but also to be Creative Leaders and aspire to be lifelong learners, creative problem solvers and forward thinkers. This will prepare our students to become model citizens in Maleny and in our ‘future’ world.

At Maleny State School, we celebrate diversity and difference. We strive to be inclusive of all students, understanding that each student is unique and will choose a different life pathway. I am proud to say our staff are focused on achieving our vision for all students.

To be a true Connected Learner and Creative Leader, students will demonstrate each of our three school values by:

• Achieving high expectations set,
• contributing to our supportive learning culture
• and becoming a reflective lifelong learner.

We see all of our Year 6 students as leaders and role models to the younger students within our school and it is for this reason that all of our students receive a senior’s badge.

P&C Welcome to All Parents

After a very successful Prep welcome to parents at the end of week two, our P&C have decided to replicate this afternoon tea and welcome for each individual year level in Weeks 5 and 6 of this term. An afternoon tea will be provided for parents, students and teachers at 2:00pm over six afternoons for each individual year level in our shed on the Senior Oval. This is a great opportunity for parents to meet teachers and other parents while their children play. The P&C Executive will also take the opportunity to explain the role of the P&C within the school and outline volunteering opportunities that exist for all parents to be a part of in 2021. This is a marvellous initiative from our P&C and one I am fully supportive of. It supports our school value of creating a supportive learning environment where all have a sense of belonging at Maleny State School. Invitations will be sent home this week.

Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to Mr Turner and all staff involved for organising a fantastic swimming carnival last week. All events these days require an extra degree of organisation and cooperation from participants. The carnival ran like clockwork and student participation was excellent. Congratulations to the winning house on the day - Kuluin. We were very happy to open this event up to parents who participated in large numbers to support their children. Congratulations to our team of 18 students that will represent our school at the Glasshouse District Swimming Trials this Wednesday at Beerwah.

Online Services Consent Form survey

A couple of weeks ago an email was sent out to all parents/ guardians seeking permission for the school to use external third party educational online services in our classes. The subject line was ‘Online Service Consent Form and Information - Maleny State School’. These services may be used in various ways to support student learning. For more detailed look at these services please visit -

This online form (survey) is a new process to allow for the quick completion of forms as they return to us immediately once submitted. Thank you to all parents who have already submitted their consent forms back to us. We have almost 200 student consent forms returned already. We have extended the deadline to this Friday at 3pm. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Mr Greig (E: ajgre2@eq.edu.au or P: 5499 8333). He has already allayed some parental concerns about the amount of student data potentially being shared online. If you have not received an email please contact the office to update or confirm your email contact details. Please note that only one parent is needed to provide permission for each child.

Next P&C Meeting Wednesday 10 March – We need You!

Thank you to the parents that attended the first P&C meeting of the year last Wednesday. New parents are welcome and encouraged to attend as each year we have parents that leave us as their children move on to High School. This year is no different; we will certainly miss some of our long serving members that no longer have children at our school.

We would love to see many more faces come along to our meetings to ensure that our P&C is truly representative of our whole school parent body.

Parent Teacher Interviews (Yrs 1-6)

This week we encourage all parents to take up the opportunity to meet with their child’s teacher and inform the teacher about your child and how they learn best (e.g. what they are good at, interests, motivators, special needs or considerations, medical issues, social abilities, academic challenges, behaviour). Teachers will be able to briefly communicate how your child is settling in and inform you if there are any early concerns noted. A second interview will be held late in Term 2 where teachers will do the majority of talking giving parents more detailed and explicit information around how your child is progressing academically, behaviourally and socially at school. You will also receive your child’s Semester One report around this time.

Note: Parents are welcome to meet with their child’s teacher at any stage throughout the year. Please ensure you make an appointment beforehand with the teacher to enable this to be a productive meeting.

Email- Ensure you have your teachers email address to further facilitate parent / teacher communication and they have yours.

School Volunteers, Mentors and RE volunteers

Last Wednesday we held a number of meetings for those wishing to volunteer within the school. Jodie Kyte conducted an induction program for all adults wishing to volunteer within the school discussing the role of volunteers, the Code of Conduct, asbestos awareness and Student Protection. A big thank you to all parents and community members in attendance. If you missed it you are still welcome to assist and volunteer in classes. Please see your child’s teacher or Miss Kyte.

All volunteers are required to undertake professional learning and awareness of school processes. If you missed the face to face session’s hardcopies of this information is available for you to access. Paula Heiniger, our Deputy Principal, also conducted an induction program for all of our religious instruction teachers.

Chappy Becky coordinated the training of new 2021 mentors who are keen to support our students.

Positive Behaviour Learning (PBL)

Our school is a Positive Behaviour Learning School. This means we teach our children what our rules and routines expectations are and reward them for meeting or exceeding these expectations. The more we can catch children doing the right thing and praise them for it the more likely we will see that behaviour repeated. Now that is a win / win for all. Try it at home. Ensure you praise behaviours you wish to see (explicitly name them, e.g. I love the way you are talking to your sister.) many more times (4 to 1) than using corrective statements (that at times also need to be used). Try keeping count of these for a day to see how you are going. It is quite a challenge, but it works. The things we pay attention to will continue to grow.

Have a magic week in Maleny.

John

From the Deputy Principal

‘Safer Internet Day’ – resources to support parents

On Tuesday, 9 February 2021, it was Safer Internet Day with actions taking place right across the globe. With a theme once again of "Together for a better internet", the idea being to make the internet a safer and better place for all, and especially for children and young people.

Everyone has a role to play in creating and maintaining a better online world.

As parents and carers, you play a crucial role in empowering and supporting children and young people to use digital technologies responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively. Indeed, parental influence, guidance and education have a significant and long-lasting impact on children’s safety and wellbeing in the online world. Therefore, there are plenty of ways for you to assist in making the internet a safer place, whether it is by ensuring an open dialogue with your children, educating them to use digital technologies safely and positively, or acting as digital role models. To help you achieve this, you may want to have a look at the SID resource gallery, where you’ll find a range of resources to use with your children, from information sheets on various online opportunities and risks to conversation starters and even games, which are available in a variety of languages and for a variety of age groups.

The latest research, ‘The digital lives of Aussie teens’, shows:

• Teenagers used an average of four different social media services, with newer services such as TikTok gaining ground.
• Just over four in 10 teenagers had at least one negative online experience in the six months to September 2020, with three in 10 having experienced unwanted contact from a stranger.
• Two in 10 teenagers reported being sent unwanted inappropriate content, such as pornography or violent content.
• Nine in 10 teenagers sought to build positive online relationships after experiencing negative online behaviour themselves. These acts of kindness included posting positive/nice comments about others, supporting or listening to a friend who had a bad experience or making sure that peers were not excluded online

Even though the latest research looks at teenagers internet activity it’s never too early to start the chat with conversations about safe internet usage – with children of primary age.

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.

SWPBL (School Wide Positive Behaviour Learning)

SWPBL- Fortnightly Focus

Rule: Be Respectful
Buzz Phrase: Manners Matter

A few ‘Manners Matter’ points to remember –

• Use of ‘Please may I …’
• Thank you
• Wait (1m back) until adults have finished talking before interrupting
• Let adults walk in front or go first through doorways or on paths
• Pedestrian manners on footpath, keep to the left.
• Someone from class thanks parent helpers for coming in
• Saying good morning/ afternoon to staff/adults and students when you pass in school grounds
• Waiting before entering a classroom when on a message
• Yes Mrs or Mr …… not just yes.
• Manners at Office, at the Tuckshop and on the bus - being quiet, not using demand statements

PBL Team

Have a great fortnight.

Prep A & Prep B

Zero the Hero

What a lot of counting fun we’ve been having at Prep. Each day we count and record how many days we have attended Prep. This week, everyone was excited to receive a visit from “Zero the Hero,” on day 10 of our prep year. (Zero the Hero will visit every time a number ends in zero). We were all very excited to receive a letter, a badge to wear and a number activity for us each to make. Everyone enjoyed making a colourful number paper chain. We are looking forward to day 20 when Zero the Hero visits again.

Welcome Afternoon Tea

Thank you to our wonderful P&C, Tuckshop workers, and Uniform Shop helpers for a lovely afternoon at Prep last Friday. Our Prep families received a very warm welcome indeed. The scones were fresh out of the oven, the company friendly and parents enjoyed watching their children feeling comfortable and happy in the prep playground.

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

Year 1A & 1B

Noun Town

Yr 1 has started with a bang! Both classes have been hard at work learning Grammar and all students excitedly helped to create their own class “Noun Town” a pictorial collage of people, places and things.

Jo Dykes (1A) and Jenny Jenkinson (1B)

Year 2A & 2B

Welcome to Yr 2! The children have been getting used to our routines and we are well under way with our unit learning for each subject. We look forward to meeting/talking to you soon at parent teacher interviews and hearing more about your children.

Sarsha Anthony, Hayley Chamberlain (2A) & Libby Ferguson (2B)

Year 3A &3B

A very warm welcome from Yrs 3A & 3B after an enjoyable break. It’s great to be facing a bright and normal new year. Our students have settled happily and smoothly into routine and continue to build strong relationships with their peers and teachers. We look forward to meeting you at our parent teacher interviews next week and sharing stories about your children.

Kathryn Brown (3A) & Shelly Chandler (3B)

Students of the Week: Week 2

Uniform Shop

The Uniform Shop's regular hours are Friday mornings between 8.30am and 9.00am. 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.

Helpers Needed

We are looking for some extra helpers in our uniform shop. If you have one hour per month or even one hour a term that you may be able to help us out, please contact the office on 5499 8333. Open from 8:30-9:00am on Fridays, bring along a friend and be part of our happy team

School Hats

Due to a price increase, new school logo hats are now $20 each.

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.

Community News

P&C’s Qld - Click through to view their most recent editions of Parent Talk

Please see the link below to the Maleny Sports and Rec Maleny Events Calendar

Choose how to add this event to your calendar:

Apple Calendar iPhone, iPad, Mac - Download .ics file

Outlook Desktop Outlook - Download .ics file

Android Calendar Android devices - Download .ics file

Other Calendar Google Calendar, Yahoo, etc. - Download .ics file

Download Event