Macquarie Memo Issue 19

News from our Deputy Principal

Dear families,

As we near the end of the year it is a great time to reflect and celebrate the growth of students, and the various opportunities provided for students to experience learning beyond their classrooms. These include (but are not limited to):

• Band events
• Limelight
• Wiradjuri Echoes
• Sport Gala Days
• Visitors from various sports
• Authors
• Excursions
• Camps
• School Carnivals
• Market Day
• Rostrum
• ICAS
• Warehouse Circus
• Year 2 Aqua Safe

We have also had opportunities to connect as a community with experiences such as (but are not limited to):

• P&C Welcome BBQ
• Colour Run
• Disco
• Learning Journeys
• Assemblies, including PBL awards
• Grandfriends Day
• The Lorax
• Playgroup

My apologies if I have missed any opportunities, a year is a long time and sometimes my memory fails me!

Thank you to each of you for continuing to work in partnership with us to ensure that the students at Macquarie Primary School are the best they can be. That we continue to respect and care for all members of our community, and that we continue to find opportunities to celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of our beautiful community.

I wish you a wonderful break and look forward to seeing you in the new year.

Regards,

Karen

SCHOOL BOARD VACANCY..

POSITIONS VACANT: Macquarie Primary School Board Member

The Macquarie School Board is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the school and acting in the best interests of the school and its students.

The board meets regularly throughout the year and is comprised of representative members from various stakeholder groups e.g. parent/caregiver members, P&C association and/or local community members, staff members, and student members (applicable to high school and college students).

A board position will become vacant in March 2025, and we will seek nominations in early Term 1 to fill the following role:

• 1x parent member – 1/4/2025-31/3/2027

To learn more about the roles and responsibilities of board members, visit the School Boards page.

Further information about the nomination process will be provided early Term 1.

School Stationery Packs 2025

Dear Families,

Macquarie Primary School has sourced the stationery requirement for all children from Preschool to Year 6 with the necessary consumables and stationery supplies for the school year. K-6 children receive exercise books, folders, pencils, rulers, glue sticks, scissors, set of headphones etc at the start of the school year and preschool children are provided with writing materials, all craft and program supplies and a calico library bag.

Having the school order these stationery materials creates consistency across the school and gives us access to specialist materials which sometimes are not available or are difficult for parents to find at local stores. Additionally, by purchasing in bulk, the school is able to obtain a more cost-effective price for materials used throughout the school year.  To ensure your child has a 2025 stationery pack  ready for day one  of school, please fill in the order form attached and return it to the office by 17 December 2024.

For 2025 the cost of the consumables and stationery pack is $80 per child and may be made as one payment or by instalments.  Payment options are listed below.  Should you require financial assistance please contact the front office.

Our school office team will be happy to assist If you have any queries regarding the stationery packs.

Regards

Kristy Grant

Principal

2025 Stationery and Book Packs

Student Name:_________________________                 2025   Year Level:_______________________

Payment Options - cashless payments are preferred

Option1:  Electronic Funds transfer

EFT Details

Account Name:                  Macquarie Primary School Management Account

BSB Number:                      032 777                     

Account Number:             001586

Use reference:                  Child’s Name 2023 STATIONERY

Option 2:  Quickweb

Quickweb Details:

Go to our school website and follow the prompts on the payment page

Use reference:                  Child’s Name 2023 STATIONERY

Option 3:  Cash or cheque paid directly to the Front Office in a sealed envelope labelled with your child’s name and year group.

Parent Portal is now available as a mobile app, SENTRAL FOR PARENTS

Download Sentral for Parents for free

through the App Store or Google Play Store.

Macquarie Primary School encourages you to sign up to the Parent Portal as it’s a secure and convenient way to communicate with your child’s school.

Parent Portal can be accessed on a mobile phone, tablet or computer and will allow parents to:

·        Notify us if your child is sick or to explain an absence	·        Read updates to school events
·        You can notify us of any existing or future absence	·        Receive academic reports
·        Update your family contact details	·        Manage secure payments
·        View current school newsletter	·        Access excursion notes

Please contact the front office for further information MacquariePSAdminEmails@ed.act.edu.au

2025 school year Equity Fund now open

To ease the pressure of back-to-school costs, eligible Canberra families can apply now for 2025 Future of Education Equity Fund payments.

The Equity Fund supports eligible low-income families and independent students from preschool through year 12 with a one-off, annual payment to help cover the costs associated with schooling such as uniforms, sport equipment and activities, tuition and music lessons.

The 2025 school year payments for eligible families are $400 (preschool), $500 (primary school), and $750 (high school and college).

Payments of completed applications will begin earlier than previous years, with the first payments to families expected from 6 January 2025.

Families will have until the end of November 2025 to apply for the Fund.

Check your eligibility and find more information about supporting documents on the Equity Fund webpage.

Library news

As the long summer holidays will be upon us very soon, you can use the centralised free e-book and audiobook collection SORA Reading. It never closes for borrowing ! There are lots of titles to choose from, fiction and non-fiction stories. Please check the SORA Reading- Getting Started instructions attached. Happy reading !

Kind regards,

Laurence

P & C News

Thank you from the P&C

The P&C thank all our wonderful volunteers this year. We have met lots of new parents (and old ones!) as they helped with fund raisers such as BBQs, Mother’s/Father’s Day stall, colour run, school disco, cookbook, mango/cherry drives, clothing pool, and more. Thank you! As a result of these activities the P&C have donated in excess of $17,000 to the school to support student activities and learning environments.

We would also like to thank our 2024 class parent representatives and appreciate the time and care you have taken to create a community for your class families. We are so grateful for your efforts – and a fond farewell to the year 6 parents who will be leaving Macquarie this year as their children move on to high school.

2025 Welcome Picnic

A welcome picnic will be held towards the end of the school holidays for preschoolers and kindergarten students and their families. Keep an eye on your emails for your invitation if you have a young one starting at Macquarie next year.

Join the P&C in 2025

Being part of the P&C is a great way to meet other parents and community members and contribute to making Macquarie Primary School even better for our kids. At our first meeting in 2025 we will be forming a new P&C board for the year, and we encourage you to come along and join this important community group.

Uniform shop

A big thank you to Liz Watterson, who is finishing up as our Uniform Shop Coordinator after five years. Liz has given countless hours to making sure our uniform shop is stocked and running smoothly. We are very grateful to her contribution to the shop as well as many other P&C related activities - thank you!

We also welcome Ian Rayner as our new coordinator in 2025. 

The uniform shop is now closed for the year and will open again next year. Thank you to our fantastic volunteers who have made this service available to everyone.

Notes / Reminders

All notes are available on our school website.

Contact Details

Community Notices

Bring a picnic and your family and friends to The Canberra Times Carols by Candlelight.

Stage 88, Commonwealth Park, December 7, from 6.30pm.

Entry is free.

This year marks the 80th Carols by Candlelight, so we would particularly welcome those with a long-standing interest in the event to join us. 

The Carols are brought to you by The Canberra Times, Woden Valley Youth Choir, 2CA/2CC, National Capital Authority, Canberra Southern Cross Club, Eclipse Sound and Lighting, ECG Electrical, Canberra City Band and charity partner Lifeline. 

For 20 plus years, Menslink have provided free counselling to young guys throughout Canberra and the surrounding region.

If your young guy is having a hard time and could really use someone to talk to, get in touch with Menslink. Now conveniently located in Holder (with some sessions also available at Kippax & Lanyon), our wait times are currently low so we’re ready to help when he needs it.

We provide a welcoming and supportive environment for young guys to share their concerns and worries with a male counsellor who will hear them out, work alongside them and provide tips and strategies to get them through those tough times.

Our Counselling sessions are completely confidential and are available to any male aged 10-25. There are no fees or charges or limits to the number of sessions. You don’t need a mental health plan and we are available during school terms and school holidays. The only prerequisite is that he is willing to give it a try.

If you think your young guy will benefit from chatting to one of our counsellors, have a chat with them and head to www.menslink.org.au, hit the ‘Get Help’ button, fill in the form and we’ll get back to you, generally the same or next business day.

If you need more info on how to have that chat with them, just email admin@menslink.org.au or call 6287 2226 and we will send you some information.