Macquarie Memo Issue 22

News from our Principal

This week has been a very exciting week as we started our whole school intervention program. Students are participating in three 40-minute whole school intervention sessions per week, If you hear your child talking about WIN groups, these are our What I Need (WIN) intervention groups and are targeting individual learning goals.

Students have now been placed into enrichment groups based on their 3 preferences. These will begin in week 7 and follow through to the end of term 2. If you were not at our Monday morning lines to hear about our enrichment groups, below is a description of each of our enrichment groups.  

LEGO groups will be developing their fine motor skills, design, build and appraise cycles as well as collaborative skills. LEGO builds creativity, problem-solving, and fine motor skills while reinforcing spatial awareness and engineering concepts. As students design and construct, they develop critical thinking, patience, and perseverance.

French and Eco-friendly art, will be using recycled materials with a French flair to develop their art skills to design, make and appraise. Students will also learn about sustainability and French culture.

Cooking, our budding chefs have signed up to this group and will be developing their cooking skills as well as their reading and real-world numeracy skills as they read recipes, measure and calculate ingredients.

Choir, our students will be developing their skills in teamwork, and confidence while enhancing musical skills such as pitch, rhythm, and harmony. Singing in a group strengthens listening, memory, and concentration as they learn more about notes, sounds and performing techniques.

Our board game group will be developing their collaboration skills as well as their critical thinking, problem-solving, and strategic planning skills while reinforcing math, logic, and communication. They will develop their patience, teamwork, and decision-making, as they learn to think ahead and adapt to challenges. We are excited to introduce new and classic board games to our students.

Plant to plate, this group will be developing their gardening skills and sustainability knowledge as well as refining their cooking skills as they learn how our food is grown and produced and the process it goes through to land on our plates. These students will be developing their real-world numeracy and reading skills as well as essential life skills and knowledge in food production.

Beading is more than just a creative pastime, This group will be enhancing their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and cognitive development. As our student’s thread beads, they will practice patience, concentration, and problem-solving. Our beading group will also be developing math skills, such as pattern recognition, counting, and spatial awareness.

Animation, our students in Animation group will be developing their creativity, storytelling, and problem-solving skills while using concepts of art, technology, and design. They will be developing their digital literacy skills, patience, and attention to detail as they create stories and develop their story telling and writing skills.

Diamond Art, in Diamond Art our students will be developing their mindfulness skills and enhancing their focus, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination. Diamond Art aims to sharpen concentration and patience while reinforcing pattern recognition and spatial awareness. This creative process also strengthens problem-solving abilities and provides a sense of accomplishment and perseverance.

Chess is a powerful educational tool that develops critical thinking, problem-solving, and strategic planning skills. Our chess players will develop their logical reasoning as they analyse moves and anticipate their opponent’s strategy.  They will be focusing on developing their critical thinking, patience and decision-making, memory, and concentration.

Coding, our coding group will be developing their problem-solving, logical thinking, and creativity. By learning to write code, students will also be developing their computational thinking as they break down complex problems into smaller, manageable steps. Coding also strengthens math skills, digital literacy and perseverance.

Bike riding, our bike riding group will be developing gross motor skills including balance, coordination, and confidence while promoting independence and perseverance. They will also be learning bike safety like wearing a helmet, following traffic rules, as well as bike safety checks before riding. This focuses on developing skills to foster lifelong habits for safe, active living.

RoboCup is a robotics competition, and we hope our students will compete in the national RoboCup which will be held in Canberra this year. RoboCup challenges students to apply STEM skills in a hands-on, engaging way. Our students will develop their designing and programming skills as well as developing their problem-solving, teamwork, and critical thinking abilities.

Walking on Country, our walking group will connect with the beautiful land we live on while enhancing physical fitness, mindfulness, and resilience. Our walking group will also be building their navigation skills, observational skills, spatial awareness, and an appreciation for Indigenous knowledge.

Next week NAPLAN begins for our year 3 and 5 students, if you have any questions about NAPLAN please reach out.

Our Swimming Carnival (3-6 & year 2 (8-year-olds)) and our Water Fun Day (K-2) will be held next week on Thursday 13 March. Please return your swimming carnival notes as soon as possible.

A reminder that during pick up time of an afternoon, we have one car line. I know it is busy and time consuming, however, the more orderly we are the quicker car lines go. It is very dangerous for cars to overtake in car lines as we have students getting into cars.

A reminder also that our first morning duty is at 8:40am, gates are locked before this time so please ensure your child arrives after this.

This week you may see some information about how you can help or P&C and volunteer for special roles and events, We have an amazing community and a wonderful P&C here at Macquarie. Please consider volunteering, it is a wonderful way to help fundraise for our school and meet some wonderful people.

Kind regards,

Kristy

PARENT PORTAL

We use Parent Portal to communicate with parents and carers. Through Parent Portal, you can:

• get push notifications when your child's teachers post to the newsfeed
• let us know if your child is sick or explain an absence
• book parent-teacher interviews
• receive academic reports and the school newsletter
• make payments
• access our school’s calendar and your child’s student timetable.

You can access Parent Portal on a web browser of through the Sentral for Parents app, available wherever you download your apps.

For our new families, you should have received an access code and registration link recently. You need an ACT Digital Account to register. Information on how to register is on the Education Directorate’s website.

If you have any questions or would like us to resend you your access code and registration link, please contact the front office.

NOTES/REMINDERS

All notes are available on our school website.

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 2025 STATIONERY

Option 2:  Quickweb

Quickweb Details:

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

Use reference:                  Child’s Name 2025 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.

Yuma community,

Yerrabi Yurwang will be starting all group programs from next week, including some new additions! Please see below

• Mondays 3:30-5:00pm Boys Group for Aboriginal boys aged 10-18, Monday 10^thFebruary - Monday 31st March. The term will start at the Yarramundi Cultural Centre, 245 Lady Denman Drive Acton, followed by some excursions for the Rugby Program with Reclink. Afternoon tea provided. Contact mdaley@yerrabi.org.au for flyers, sign ups and more details!

• Tuesdays 10:30-12:00 Deadly Brains Playgroup for Aboriginal children aged 0-5 and their parents and carers, Tuesday 11^thFebruary - Tuesday 1st April. Most sessions will be at the Yarramundi Cultural Centre, 245 Lady Denman Drive Acton, except for a few exciting excursions! We will provide play experiences, child development activities, nursery rhymes in Aboriginal languages and morning tea. Contact cwinter@yerrabi.org.au for flyers, signups and more details! If you or your client requires transport to be able to attend these playgroups, please let Caitlin know via email.

• Wednesdays 10:30-12:00 Women's Circle for Aboriginal women who are parents, sisters, aunties, grandmothers, carers for Aboriginal children. Wednesday 12^thFebruary - Wednesday 2nd April. Participate in yarns, arts, crafts, excursions and opportunities to connect with community, culture and support services to take care of your wellbeing. Morning tea provided. Contact cwinter@yerrabi.org.au for flyers, sign ups and more details! If you or your client requires transport to be able to attend these playgroups, please let Caitlin know via email.

• Wednesdays 3:30-5:00 Strong Men's Group for Aboriginal Men. Wednesdays 12^thFebruary - 2^nd April Connect with community and culture through a variety of activities guided by strong Aboriginal men to support you and your family. Afternoon tea provided. Contact igoolagong@yerrabi.org.au for flyers, sign ups and more details.

• Thursdays 3:30-5:00 Koori Girls group for Aboriginal girls aged 10-18, Thursdays 13^thFebruary - 3rd April  Participate in arts, crafts and cultural activities guided by deadly Aboriginal women to help you connect to community and culture. Afternoon tea provided. Contact mkdaley@yerrabi.org.au for flyers, sign ups and more details.

• Keep an eye out for Pop-Up Playgroups monthly on Saturdays, Elders' groups and parenting programs with Yerrabi Yurwang coming soon!

Mitch Daley

Youth Worker

Yawarj Mara, Strong Pathways Program

YERRABI YURWANG 

Child & Family Aboriginal Corporation

P & C News

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• Thanks to Lyndell Davis who has joined the P&C committee as Assistant Treasurer and Celia Rideaux who is the ACT P&C Council Delegate for 2025.
• The P&C needs more volunteers! Please consider joining the roster for Canteen at lunchtime on Fridays, or volunteering for a fortnightly shift at the uniform shop on Monday morning, Weds afternoon or Friday morning.  We need your help to keep offering these services to MPS families!
• We are pleased to confirm that MPS will be a polling place for the upcoming Federal election (date TBC)! This is a great fundraising opportunity for the P&C to sell some democracy sausages and set up some other fundraising stalls. We will be seeking volunteers to help with setting up, BBQ’ing, serving, cashiers etc. We’re hoping to have lots of helpers to spread the effort over the course of polling day. And please ask your friends and neighbours to visit our school to vote!
• If you can help with any of the above, please reach out by emailing macquariepandc@gmail.com.

Contact Details

Community Notices

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.

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.