Macquarie Memo Issue 26 2023

News from the Principal

Welcome back! We are excited to be back and well and truly into learning for Term 4.

A big thanks to our P&C particularly, Matt, Alethea, Fleur, and Christie for a huge effort organising and running the cake stall and sausage sizzle on Saturday. A massive thank you also to everyone who baked delicious treats for the cake stall. Your efforts and time were greatly appreciated!

The final orders for prizes from our P&C Colour Run have been placed. The current expected delivery time for prizes is three weeks and we'll advise you as when they're here.

It was great to meet some parents at the first morning tea with the principal we had last term, I am hoping to make 'Coffee with the Principal' a regular occurrence to meet and catch up with families. This is a great informal way to chat about current events and items. I would like to invite parents/family members to the next 'Coffee with the Principal' on Thursday 26 October from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Come and have a coffee and a chat, if you have little ones at home, bring them along too!

This term, in lieu of our normal Arts Assemblies, we will be having two special events. In Week 5 we will be having a Remembrance Day Assembly from 9:10 am -9:40 am, Friday 10 November. In Week 9 we will be having our Arts Festival from 4:00pm on Wednesday 6 December. Please save the date for these events there will be more information to follow regarding the Arts Festival.

Next Friday the 27 October is our 'Grand friends and Outdoor Learning Day', our Grand friends are invited to join us for a morning of outdoor activities from 9:30am-11:00am followed by a Morning Tea in the Café for our Grand friends at 11:00am.

We have many dates and activities happening this term (see table below.) As other events or changes arise, we will keep you updated, so please  keep an eye on the school calendar on our school newsletter.

AC 9.0 Implementation

The start of the term has seen the teaching staff continue to explore Australian Curriculum (AC) 9.0 ready for implementation next year. This week we have looked at the Science Curriculum. Unlike the other curriculum areas that we have examined that are more concise and streamlined Science has been expanded and elaborated on within the new AC. It continues to be organised under the strands of Science understanding, Science as a human endeavour and Science inquiry. The realignment and refinement across the three areas appears to flow well and staff have reported that even though there is more specificity in the Science inquiry strand it is functional and will support our teaching and learning in 2024.

Have a great week!

Kristy

Triple P – Positive Parenting Program

Hi everyone,

I wanted to let you know of Triple P – Positive Parenting Program.  It is an Australian evidence-based parenting program which aims to upskill parents in strategies and knowledge to add to your existing parenting ‘toolbox’ to use when and how you like.  The delivery of the program to parents and cares of children in Australia is supported by funding from the Australian Government (that’s how well regarded the program is!).

Currently Triple P are offering families in Australia with children under 12 FREE access to Triple P online courses.  All you need to do to access them is to register and you’ll receive one year’s free access, meaning you can complete the courses and review the information (“24/7 online, at your place, at your pace”).  There are currently three versions of the course:

• Triple P Online for Baby - Online support for parents-to-be and new parents (of babies up to 12 months old)
• Triple P Online Under 12 - Online program for parents/carers of young children (under 12 years)
• Fear-Less Triple P Online - Online program for parents/carers of anxious kids (from age 6+)

Also available on the website (no need to register) are a range of easy read, helpful articles  regarding a range of parenting topics.

If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend registering to complete a course, or at least, browsing the articles regarding parenting topics.

https://www.triplep-parenting.net.au/au/triple-p/

Cheers,

Erin | Psychologist

Managing Staff Absences

As the year continues, we expect to see a number of staff away at times due to seasonal illness and COVID-19.

To ensure that we continue to provide all students with quality learning with minimal disruption, we may be implementing temporary changes to our learning programs. 

The school may also take the opportunity to temporarily modify timetables or work with external providers to deliver some programs. There may also be a need to postpone excursions and other extra-curricular activities until there is enough staff to support them.  
Every school will implement these measures differently and has the flexibility to make choices that best meet the needs of their school community. 

If changes are required at our school at any time, we will write to you to let you know. We will also ensure we keep you up to date on how long we expect any changes to be in place.

As always, we remain committed to providing our students with high quality learning experiences in a safe and welcoming school environment.

Thank you for your understanding.

Staying COVID Smart in 2023

As you may be aware, there has been an increase in COVID-19 cases across ACT public schools in recent weeks.

To help stop the further spread of COVID-19 in our school, we are encouraging and implementing the following measures:

• Students who are COVID-19 positive or displaying symptoms (including a runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever) should test and must not attend school while unwell.
• Parents and carers must inform schools if their child is COVID-positive.
• Keep up to date with vaccinations.
• Test when symptomatic or as a precaution.
• Practise good hand and respiratory hygiene.
• Distance where possible.

For the latest COVID-19 advice please visit the ACT’s COVID-19 website.

Stranger awareness safety message

This is a reminder to ensure your children and young people understand the importance of stranger awareness safety and information has been included on how to report an incident.

Please support us to keep our children safe by having conversations about moving safely around the community. You may wish to visit the Australian Federal Police website section on Child Safety for tips. In addition, the Safety4Kids is a non-government website that has useful information and links. The Constable Kenny website also has a number of tips for parents for younger children.

If you become aware of an incident or notice anyone acting suspiciously around a school or student, contact police immediately on 131 444 or in the case of an emergency call 000. If you witness an incident or if you have any information that could assist police, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Information can be provided anonymously. We would also ask that you notify the school so we can also support the wider school community to be aware of incidents.

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

Library News

P&C Donations

Our wonderful P&C donated some money last term to buy books for two targeted areas. Our Preschool was in need of more quality early reader books to keep down on their own shelves, so they now have 170 extra books! Each book has been labelled with a P&C Donation sticker to acknowledge the great ways our community assists with resources.

The next work in progress is more books at the other end of the scale, for our mature readers. Stay tuned!

 Book Club

Orders from Issue 7 of Book Club are due Sunday 29 October. Please place orders online at www.scholastic.com.au/loop

Overdue notes

I hope all the students loved reading their library books over the holidays! It is time to return those books as they are now overdue. Notes will be printed next Thursday 26 October. Children can return books any day next week to avoid a note being printed for them.

News from the P&C

Term 4 P&C meeting           

The Term Three P&C meeting will be held at the Garden Side Café at 6pm-7pm, Wednesday 25 October. Come along and hear what the P&C will be up to this term, and if you have any suggestions we would love to hear them too. Everyone is welcome! For more information email macquariepandc@gmail.com.

Referendum Fund Raiser Wrap-Up

Thank you to all our amazing volunteers who helped out with the sausage sizzle and cake stall. We sold out of everything, and helped raise funds for the Year 6 Farewell and other P&C activities.

Cherries are here!

Enjoy some delicious cherries with the P&C cherry fundraiser with 1kg for $25, 2kg for $45, and 5kg for $75. Orders close on 10 November, and cherries will be delivered in Week 8.

You can order both of these through Flexischools. Simply look under the “events” tab and follow the prompts.

Bunnings BBQ volunteers

The P&C have been lucky enough to score a Bunnings BBQ fundraising spot on Saturday 18 November at Belconnen Bunnings. If you are available to volunteer at any time during the day please contact macquariepandc@gmail.com

Tern 4 Working Bee

Save the date for our next working bee on the morning of Sunday 19 November.

P&C Uniform Shop

Preschool families – get organised for school next year! Come and see us in the uniform shop to try on and purchase uniforms for next year! Orders can also be placed on flexischools.com.au and will be delivered to preschool for students to take home. We are happy to exchange sizes - just keep tags on.

The volunteer run P&C Uniform shop is open 8:45am - 9:15am on Monday and Friday; and 3:00pm – 3:30pm on Wednesday.

Orders for new uniform items can be placed via  www.flexischools.com.au and will be sent home with students - no need to collect from the shop.

To contact the Uniform Shop email: uniforms.mps@gmail.com

Donations of pre-loved uniform items are gratefully accepted during open times, or can be left with the office.

Canteen Co-ordinator Needed

We're looking for a new canteen coordinator and extra volunteers to continue the canteen service in 2024.

If you are available from about 12.15 to 1pm on Fridays, we'd love your help to keep the canteen service going a Friday. It's a quick and easy job of making sure the orders are in the right class baskets! The coordinator doesn’t need to be there every week if we can have just a few volunteers to roster on each term.

If you are available Friday lunchtimes and can volunteer your help please email canteen.mpspandc@gmail.com.

Notes / Reminders

All notes are available on our school website.

Community Notices

Contact Details