Macquarie Memo Issue 7 2023

News from the Principal

Today I drove out to spend some time with our 5/6 campers. Like always, camp has provided time to make some strong connections to each other, to teachers and helped our students build an understanding of themselves. They have been thrown a number of challenges which they have taken on with enthusiasm. They have tested themselves, tried things they haven’t done before and celebrated how capable they are. One more day to go.

Last Thursday, our four School Captains attended the GRIP Student Leadership Conference with Ben. The GRIP Student Leadership Conference is unique in that it concentrates specifically on training student leaders for their role as school leaders. The style, topics, and content of this conference all focus on what the students can do right now. The goal is that student leaders leave the conference with a clear vision, a solid understanding and dozens of ideas for their time as a leader. I will be asking our school leaders to write about their experience and will share this with families in future newsletters.

In week 9 we will be holding our annual Cross Country Carnival. Now is the time for students who would like to be competitive to do some running to build stamina. More information will be shared about the Cross Country as the date approaches.

Continuing with our School Review information, I’d like to share information about domain 5 – An expert teaching team. This domain focusses on having a culture of continuous improvement, where staff collaboratively develop effective pedagogy, use reflective practice, give and receive structured feedback, access coaching and effectively participate in Professional Learning Communities. We have a huge amount of expertise at Macquarie Primary School including teachers with strengths in literacy, numeracy, inquiry, the arts and much more. We also have some great external experts who guide us in best practice ensuring we are always growing and improving. Our academic and wellbeing data support these claims and we’ve seen gradual and sustained growth over the life of our current School Improvement Plan.

Teachers have been working on the development of our 2023 Action Plan over the past few weeks. This plan guides our improvement process across the year. Some of the features of this year’s plan include:

• Improving feedback to students in writing and spelling – supporting students to understand when feedback is being given, that feedback helps our learning move forward, that feedback is helpful in progressing learning and feedback comes in various forms
• Making stronger connections between our learning assets, values and PBL expectations
• Deepening our understanding and use of inquiry to promote student voice and agency
• Embedding consistent practices based on our work in Mathematics with Dr Paul Swan – this includes lesson structure, maths vocabulary and planning processes.

We certainly have our work cut out for us but we know this work will really make a difference for our students.

Last week we had our first Board meeting of the year. This meeting is attended by the 2022 Board and the 2023 Board will be announced very soon. Thank you to those who nominated. At the Board meeting we went over the 2023 Action Plan and signed off the 2022 Board Report. The Board Report will go up on our website early next term.

Have a great week.

Jodie

Apply now for the Future of Education Equity Fund 2023

Apply now for the Future of Education Equity Fund for the 2023 school year. Eligible low-income ACT families can receive one-off payments for financial aid to help cover the costs of their children’s educational costs, such as sport equipment and activities, music lessons, school uniforms and excursions.

The Fund is open to eligible students enrolled in preschools that are attached to an ACT government school, through to Year 12 in the ACT. Further information and the online application form is available at https://www.education.act.gov.au/support-for-our-students/financial-and-resource-assistance-for-families

Staying COVID Smart in 2023

Students, staff and visitors are reminded to:

• Stay home if unwell and get tested for COVID-19
• Stay up to date with your vaccinations
• Practise good hand and respiratory hygiene
• Physically distance from others when in public places

Individual schools may implement additional measures to manage COVID-19 if deemed necessary in a particular setting. Any changes will be communicated to parents and carers.

If your child has COVID-19, you must let the school know. We recommend keeping your child home for at least five days.

RATs are again available from the school for students in term 1 from the front office.

You can read more about how we are being COVID Smart in ACT public schools at https://www.education.act.gov.au/public-school-life/covid-school-arrangements

NAPLAN 2023

NAPLAN (National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy) is coming up for students in years 3 and 5.  

• From Wednesday 15 March to Monday 27 March, the children will complete four NAPLAN assessments.

Some students may feel anxious about doing NAPLAN; it is different to everyday school and normal testing situations.  If you feel your child would benefit from some additional practice please access example papers for years 3 and 5 through the following links.

• https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/public-demonstration-site
• https://www.acara.edu.au/assessment/naplan/naplan-2012-2016-test-papers.

At Macquarie Primary School, we encourage all our students to participate in NAPLAN, however if you wish to withdraw your child, please speak with your child’s classroom teacher ASAP.

Eddie McCallum and Jenelle Martin

edward.mccallum@ed.act.edu.au jenelle.martin@ed.act.edu.au 

NAPLAN Coordinators

Library news

Book Club Issue 2 is now out. You can place your orders online at www.scholastic.com.au/loop . Orders will be processed on Sunday evenings of March 19^th and 26^th. Did you know that 15% of your order is donated back to our school? Thank you for your support!

News from the P&C

Working Bee this weekend!

Our first working bee of 2023 will be held at 9am on Sunday the 19th March – we would love to see you there! We will have a BBQ to finish up the working bee and to say thanks for coming along. If you are able to make part or all of the working bee, please RSVP to grounds.mpspandc@gmail.com.

P&C uniform shop

The P&C Uniform Shop is open Mondays 8:45am – 9:15am, Wednesdays 3:00pm – 3:30pm and Fridays 8:45am – 9:15am.

Orders for new uniform items can be placed via www.flexischools.com.au and will be sent home with students. Discontinued items such as bootleg pants, bike shorts, polar fleece vests and winter pinafores are available on Flexischools. Prices from $5. Limited sizes so get in quick to grab a bargain!

Donations of pre-loved uniform items are gratefully accepted during open times.

Two Volunteers needed! The uniform shop needs 1x volunteer for once a fortnight on a Wednesday afternoon, and 1x volunteer once a fortnight on a Monday Morning. It’s a great way to get involved and contribute to the school community. Contact Liz: uniforms.mps@gmail.com if you can help.

Notes / Reminders

All notes are available on our school website.

Community Notices

Contact Details