Macquarie Memo issue 24

News from our Principal

I can’t believe how fast this term has gone and how much our students have achieved. When visiting classrooms, I can’t help but notice how engaged our students are with learning, how enthusiastically our teachers are delivering curriculum and what a wonderfully collaborative environment we have created.

This week some of our 5/6 students participated in an AFL Gala Day. The boys made it to the semi-finals and our girls showed determination and spirit. There were some shining future AFL stars emerge on the day. As always, our students represented our school with pride and wonderful sportsmanship.

Next Thursday we have our Cross Country Carnival. Classes have been busy practising running the course and are looking forward to getting their running shoes on for a fun whole school event. Parents and carers are more than welcome to attend and to help with our P&C BBQ. The times below are an approximate guide to age group race times:

11.20 - Kindergarten (500M) + Preschool (Beginning week students will need a parent to stay while to carnival is occurring)
11.30 - 12/13 year olds (3KMs)
11.40 - 11 year olds (3KMs)
11.50 - 7 Year olds in Year 2 (500 metres)
12.00 - 10 Year Olds (2 KMs)
12.10 - All Year 1 Students - (500 metres)
12.20 - 9 Year Olds (1.5KMs)
12.30 - 8 Year Olds (1KMs)

We are already getting excited for some important events in term 2. Students commence term two on Tuesday 29 April. We will be holding an ANZAC Day assembly on Wednesday 30 April at the normal time of 2:10pm, parents welcome to attend.

School photos will be held Wednesday 28 May with the beginning of the week preschool group on the same day. End of the week preschool group will be on Wednesday 4 June and the catch-up day for anyone who miss photos on the 28^th. Further information about school photos will be sent home day 1 of term 2.

As this is our last newsletter for term 1; I would like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday break and we hope everyone gets quality time with their families and friends over Easter. We are looking forward to our students returning for an exciting term 2 on 29 April.

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 or 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.

UPCOMING

NOTES AND 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.

From the School Psychologist 

Yuma community,

Yerrabi Yurwang will be starting all group programs from Monday the 10th of February, 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

Federal Election 2025

We are excited to announce a fun-filled event for election day on Saturday May 3 2025! Join us for a BBQ and stalls organised by our P&C, featuring a delicious BBQ, second-hand books and games, plants, Mother's Day gifts, our school cookbook, and a cake stall.

We Need Your Help! To make this event a success, we are seeking volunteers to help out with various tasks throughout the day. Whether you can flip burgers & snags, set up or help out with stalls, or bake some treats, your support will be invaluable! Even an hour or two of your time is a huge help – please email canteen.mpspandc@gmail.com or macquariepandc@gmail.com to confirm your availability.

If you can’t help out on the day, we’re seeking donations of:

• Books and non-electronic games in good condition: please drop these off at the uniform shop when it’s open.
• Plants and cakes: please bring them on the day from 8 AM.

You can also support our school community by casting your vote at MPS on the day and enjoying the goodies on offer, and tell your family, friends and neighbours to come along too! Thank you for your generosity and support!

Mother’s Day Stall

The P&C will run the popular Mother’s Day stall on Friday 9 May (week 2). During the day, students will have the chance to purchase a gift for their mum or other special grown-ups. Items range from $1 to $10. The stall is cash only so students will need to bring money to school on the day if they want to purchase a gift.

P&C uniform shop

The weather is cooling down, so get in early to stock up on winter school clothes. The P&C Uniform Shop (down the stairs from the front office) sells new uniforms close to cost price, and second-hand items for $2 and $5. Open times are: Mondays 8:45-9:15am, Wednesdays 3:00-3:30pm, and Fridays 8:45-9:15am, with cash and card accepted. Orders can also be placed online via the Flexischools app, and online orders are sent home with students. Any questions can be sent to.  

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

We also need volunteers for fortnightly shifts on Monday mornings and Wednesday afternoons. Please contact uniforms.mps@gmail.com for more information.

Southern Cross Club Connection

Are you a member of the Canberra Southern Cross Club? If so, please consider linking your membership to Macquarie Primary School - the P&C will receive 7.5% of your spend on food and beverages as a Community Rewards Fundraiser. You simply fill out this online form (it takes about one minute!), or chat to reception next time you visit one of the clubs around Canberra.

• 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, Wednesday 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.