Macquarie Memo Issue 12- 2024

News from our Principal

If you have been around our school recently you will see that our PBL signage has started to go up. It is an amazing representation of the learning happening at Macquarie with our safe respectful learners.

A reminder hats are back on. Students are now required to wear a hat in the playground, if a child forgets their hat they will be required to play under the shade on the fixed equipment or go to the library at play time.

We have recently sent out a survey asking for leaver intentions for 2025, if your family is intending to leave Macquarie this year, please let us know by completing the form.

We are extremely excited for Steph who will start her maternity leave today. Our kindergarten classes have now been combined with Garima and are excited to be learning with all their kindergarten friends.

This Saturday 17 August our P&C are hosting the Belconnen Bunnings BBQ, if you are able to help out please complete this google form (which can also be found on Class Dojo) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SsdwIU7M0dymCim5Sllnhz95sZcgwZkeKzs-K51bAjo/edit?gid=0#gid=0 if you are out and about on Saturday please pop in for a sausage to support our P&C.

Next week is Book Week and on Friday, 23 August, we will have our Book Week Parade at 9:15am, students are asked to dress up as their favourite book characters, parents are welcome to attend our parade.

A big thank you to everyone who participated in our Winter Walk to School Day and a massive thank you to Garima and to Gemma for organising breakfast club on the day.

Next Wednesday kindergarten is hosting our first assembly back in the hall, families are welcome to join us on Wednesday for a 2:10pm start in the hall.

A reminder that school photos are on Friday 30 August.

Have an amazing week everyone.

Kind regards

Kristy

Sean's Sports News

Last week, MPS took some teams to the ACT Oztag gala day at Kaleen. We had one 5/6 boys team and one 3/4 boys team participate on the Tuesday. Both teams played exceptionally well against some tough opposition. 

On the Wednesday we had two 5/6 girls team play and one ¾ team play. Both the 5/6 teams came away with a couple of good wins against great opposition. The 3/4 girls toiled hard all day with only 8 players all day and no substitutes. Well done to everyone. 

Next Tuesday, we have 43 students who will be participating at the Belconnen Zone Athletics carnival at the Australian Institute of Sport. Students who have been selected would have received a timetable with their events that they are participating in. Students will need to make sure that they are signed in and out by a parent when they arrive and depart the carnival. Students will need to wear sports uniform on the day, as well as pack warm clothes in case of cold weather. Students will also need lunch and recess if they are planning on being there the whole day. 

Events will begin at 8.30am. Students who are competing early need to arrive by 8am. 

Students in years 3 to 6 recently had the opportunity to participate in some touch football clinics. These clinics were made possible by using funding from Sporting Schools Australia. Through a variety of games and activities, students were able to gain a better understanding on how to play a game of touch football. 

Kind regards

Sean

Dear parents and carers
Welcome back to Term 3.
We are continuing to see the impacts of illness across our community this winter, with an
increase in the seasonal flu, COVID-19, and other illness.
At school, our focus remains on delivering quality teaching and learning with minimum
disruption. However, seasonal illness can mean there may be times this term where staff
are away unexpectedly, which may require us to adjust how we run our schools.
These adjustments are no different to those used during Term 2 and may include minor
changes to school timetables, a reduction in extracurricular activities, camps and
excursions, or periods of larger group or supervised independent learning. Teachers may
use online educational resources as part of their teaching at school. These changes support
schools to ensure student learning is not impacted. Your school will keep you updated if
changes are made.
Vaccination is one of the key protections against illness for our community. I encourage
everyone who can to get vaccinated for the seasonal flu and COVID-19. You can get your
child vaccinated at a GP, participating pharmacy, Early Childhood Immunisation Clinics
(children aged 6 months to under 5 years) or another immunisation provider. A
consultation fee may apply. You can find more on the ACT Health website.
There are simple steps we can all take to protect one another. Hand sanitiser is available at
all of our schools and students will be reminded of the importance of keeping up their
hand hygiene to help stop the spread of illness.
As parents and carers, one of the simplest and most important things you can do is to
keep your child at home when they are unwell. If your child has COVID-19 please let us
know by contacting your school Front Office.
Thank you once again for your support. 

 Katy Haire

Director General

P & C News

Bunnings BBQ Saturday 17 August

The P&C have been fortunate to get a spot running the Bunnings BBQ on Saturday, 17th  August so please drop by and get a sausage if you’re in the area. The sausage sizzle is a great fundraiser - last year raised almost $3000!

We're also looking for volunteers to help, so if you have time please select a timeslot through this link. Please also send your mobile number to president.mpspandc@gmail.com (in case anything changes last minute).

MPS Cookbook – share your favourite recipe by 20 August

The MPS P&C are excited to create our very own school cookbook, and hope that families will contribute a favourite recipe.

It’s easy to share your recipe with us: simply visit cc.recipes/mpscookbook, then fill out the recipe form and click submit. You can also include a picture of the food if you like (but not essential).

You can also contribute artwork by your child. Just email it to MPSCookbook2024@gmail.com or hand it into the front office. Please submit your recipe or artwork by 20 August.

Once the cookbook is printed you will have the opportunity to buy a copy. Funds raised will be used to help make our school even better.

Father’s Day Stall Friday 30 August

We will be hosting a Father’s Day stall for the children to purchase a small gift for their dad or special adult. Gifts will be between $1-$10.

We also need volunteers to help run the stall between 8:30am – 1pm. If you can spare some time, then please contact classparentrepmps@gmail.com.

Readathon, 19 August – 6 September

Are you ready for the annual MPS readathon? The Macquarie P&C are holding a readathon where every child reads as many books as they can (especially good fit books), and asks their family and friends to sponsor them – either per book read, or a set amount. The readathon will be held from 19 August to 6 September, with prizes being awarded after all booklists are returned by the 13th September.

All sponsorship money will be used to buy books for the school. Prizes include a book voucher for the person from each year who has read the most books (from pre-school through to year 6, and LDU), a prize for one person selected at random from the people who have submitted their readathon form, as well as a special prize for the person who has read the most books in the entire school. Sponsorship and book lists have already been sent out by the school.

Save the date – P&C meetings

There will be an additional P&C meeting this term at 6-7pm on Tuesday 10 September. The Term Four P&C meeting will be held at 6-7pm on Tuesday 22 October. Both will be held in the Garden Side Cafe. Please come along and let us know any ideas you might have, volunteer, or simply listen and meet some other parents and carers. All welcome!

P&C uniform shop

The P&C Uniform Shop is located in the Tidbinbilla Building. It is run by volunteers and sells new uniforms as close to cost price as possible, and second-hand items for $2 and $5. Opening times are:

Mondays 8:45 - 9:15am

Wednesdays 3:00 - 3:30pm 

Fridays 8:45 - 9:15am

Cash and card payments are accepted. Orders can also be placed online via the flexischools app - see  www.flexischools.com.au. No need to collect online orders - they will be sent home with students. Any questions can be sent to uniforms.mps@gmail.com.  

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

Notes / Reminders

All notes are available on our school website.

Contact Details

Community Notices

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.