24 November 2017

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

Musical

What a truly amazing and talented group of students we have here at Musgrave. The Ensemble performed their long awaited “Lost in the Story” Musical. This production was 8 months in the making and many people had a hand in making this event the spectacular that it was. Firstly, a big thank you to the wonderful students who committed their lunch times and after school to this project and performed on the day like true professionals. I thank all the staff involved in making this dream a reality, Kerrie Doolan, Kelsey Davies, Brooke Pearce, Lauren Wagg and Katie Halsall for her role as the Mad Hatter. Also a big shout out to Rachele White for all her hard work and commitment in getting our costumes and stage ready. No event happens without the people I just mentioned but the support from parents and the remaining staff also contributed greatly to the success.

Class Placements for 2018

We are currently creating our classes for 2018 and as per previous years a letter will be sent home to parents advising of their child’s new class and location. Please note teachers will not be allocated to a class on the information letter sent home to parents. On the first day of school all class lists, teachers assigned to the classes and locations will be displayed outside the office and outside the hall.

Christmas Concert

Musgrave is holding our traditional Christmas Concert in collaboration with the Salvation Army Band on Monday 4th December. It would be great to see as many families there as possible. There will be stalls and some food outlets available from 5pm and the concert will begin at 5.30pm. I would like to thank in advance the Salvation Army for their ongoing support of this event.

Report Cards-: ‘C’ is something to celebrate!

As your child’s report will be emailed out on Wednesday 6th December, I thought it important to share the follow information with you as I do every report card time. It is my hope that we can eliminate any confusion there may be surrounding the allocation of achievement. I encourage parents to pay particular attention to the effort grades for each subject and support their children to continually try their hardest at school.

The level of achievement your child receives in each area of their report is determined by how well they have achieved the required national standard, not on how well they have achieved compared to others in their class.

Mums and Dads and Carers sometimes feel disappointed if their child has one or more ‘C’s on their report card. This can be because they understand a ‘C’ to mean ‘average’. However, a ‘C’ does not mean average. A ‘C’ is something to celebrate!

Achieving a ‘C’ means that a student has achieved the required standard for their year level as outlined in the Australian Curriculum. Students who achieve A’s and B’s are usually required to demonstrate some kind of ‘higher order thinking’, like applying learning to design a solution to a challenging problem. Getting 100/100 on a test does not guarantee an ‘A’.

Of course, it is FANTASTIC when a student achieves an A or a B, and ALL of our children are encouraged to strive for excellence. That said, you can feel justly proud if your child achieves a ‘C’ and should let them know that they have performed well.

Students receive a ‘D’ when they require support and have not yet achieved the standard for their year level, however, are working towards it and continue to learn and develop. Students who receive an ‘E’ are experiencing difficulty and require significant intervention and support. Whatever rating your child receives, the teacher’s comments will tell you how hard they are trying and describe the progress being made.

One of our School values is Excellence and we encourage all students to strive to achieve to their potential. For some students, regardless of their level of achievement, their rating is a result of them applying themselves and working extremely hard. When this is the case, these students should feel proud of their efforts and be congratulated.

We trust that you will find the information in your child’s report card informative. We welcome parents to discuss any aspect of the report card with the relevant teacher or administration.

Julie-Anne McGuinness – Principal

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Tyalgum Ridge – Year 6 Camp

On Monday our Year 6 students, Mrs Kennon, Mrs Leitch and Mr Waugh headed off for a 2 night camp at Tyalgum Ridge Retreat in NSW.

There were so many fun activities including canoeing, bike riding, rock hopping, rainforest walks, fire and damper making as well as a ropes course and flying fox. We found shiny crystals in the creek and enjoyed swimming in the pristine waterfall. Everyone loved feeding the baby goats, alpacas, and chickens. Even though most activities were completed with a downpour of rain, that didn't dampen the spirits of the eager campers!

We all had so much fun and although we missed our families and our beds we wanted to stay longer! What an awesome 3 days!

Thomas S – Year 6 Student

MESSAGE FROM THE OFFICE

Student Resource Scheme 2018

You should have received information and an email invoice for participation in our Student Resource Scheme (SRS) 2018.

There are 4 payment options.

1. Pay in full by 30th November
2. Payment plan through BPoint
3. Centrelink Deductions if you are already using this system
4. Use credit balance on your account

Forms, payment or payment plans need to be completed by 30/11/17 so that the school can arrange for the purchase and delivery of the book packs in January.

You can download a copy of

1. SRS form
2. Payment plan form
3. Information about how the Direct Debit payment plan will work

Please note there will be no Eftpos or cash taken at the office as from 1st December, however you can still pay via BPoint, Direct Debit or BPay.

ASSEMBLY AWARDS

CLASSROOM CAPERS – 1/2 JADE

Well, what a busy year it has been and it’s hard to believe it has almost come to an end. There have been great excursions, such as Fleays Wildlife Park, Beenleigh Historical Village and SeaWorld. The incursions have been fantastic with Healthy Harold, Fun with Maths and the Science Factory. This term we have been busy writing character descriptions and persuasive texts. Wishing you a wonderful break with your families. We had enjoyed teaching your child this year.

Here are some of the highlights of 1/2 Jade’s year!

What I have enjoyed most about 2017...

Amina- is the maths rotations
Aya- is writing
Caelan- is coming to a new school
Connor- is doing my homework
Dexter- is doing fun experiments
Grace- is doing my maths homework
Holly- is playing with my friends
Kirra- is doing my homework and reading
Lexi- is playing with my friends
Lilly- is learning about “Materials”
Maya- is learning about everything
Nyah- is doing art
Ofa- is learning lots of things
Rikki- is writing, quick writes, drawing and reading
Riley- is doing spelling words
Ronnie- is learning maths
Sadan- is learning new stuff
Sidney M- is free time for my drawings
Sidney S- is colouring in the Rainbow Fish
Skyler- is going to PE and art
Taylor- is our quick writes writing
Te Pouritanga- is that I like learning
Theo- is going to the computer lab

Belinda Honeycombe and Amanda Lees - 1/2 Jade Teachers

TUCKSHOP NEWS

Tuckshop will be opened for limited food on the last week of school and closed for all orders on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

We will be opened during the little & big lunch breaks for drinks and snacks only...sorry for any inconvenience.

Uniforms

Our uniform shop will be open on the last week of the school holidays on the following dates and times:

THURSDAY - 18th January 2pm - 5pm
FRIDAY - 19th January 10am - 2pm

Payment can be made via laybys, flexischool, cash and direct deposit (see tuckshop for account details (it is not the same as the school account).

Lost Property

If your child has lost any items please check our lost property bin outside the Tuckshop as soon as possible as this will be cleared out by the end of the term.

Angela Anderson and Sally McWilliams – Tuckshop Convenors

P&C NEWS

Christmas Concert - Monday 4th December

There will be arts and craft stalls from 4pm at the concert, lots of homemade goodies, jewellery, handbags, candles etc...These could make great presents as we are leading up to Christmas.

Tina Quirke - P&C President

READING DOGS

eLEARNING

How often do you use technology in your everyday life?

It’s quite scary when you start to think about it, isn’t it?

It’s the everyday use of technology everywhere that we need to consider when we are teaching our students. Teaching them is so different to when we went to school!

The Department of Education and Training (2017) outlines attributes of teaching the contemporary learner:

• is mobile – accesses learning wherever they are
• learns 24/7 – locates and filters content, taps into knowledge anytime
• takes information technology for granted – lives and operates in a digital world
• connects – collaborates with friends, experts, resources, learning communities
• engages globally – participates in world events in real time
• is agile – adapts to new technologies easily
• personalises – finds and leverages what they need to be productive
• authors – creates, critiques and publishes content.

These attributes underpin where we are heading as a school regarding eLearning.

Are we there yet?

The answer is no.

Just like each student in a class is different, so too are teachers. We are all at different places on our journey. To help set a common direction, the school is working towards guidelines for eLearning in every class to be trialled during next year. The guidelines will give clear indications of ways we use technology in our school using school resources in Prep to Year 2 and the BYOx program (Bring Your Own iPad) and school resources in Year 3 to 6.

If you would like more information about eLearning you may like to follow this link to the QLD Government Parents and Carers Information site.

If you have any questions about eLearning and Information and Communication Technologies please contact your class teacher or myself.

Annette Vlaanderen - eLearning Coordinator
avlaa2@eq.edu.au

A WORD FROM OUR GUIDANCE OFFICER

Worries and Anxieties: Helping Children to Cope

Children, like adults, have all sorts of strong feelings about what is happening to them. At times, the world can seem frightening or uncertain, which may create fearfulness, worry or anxiety.

Different Types of Anxiety

Fears and Phobias

Very young children often develop fears and phobias. These can be triggered by changes (going to childcare, separating from a parent), or particular things (spiders, snakes, monsters etc). Fears like these are common but with encouragement and support most children learn to overcome their anxiety.

General Anxiety

Some youngsters feel anxious most of the time for no apparent reason – it may be their temperament or may be a pattern of behaviour that is shared by other members of the family.

School-Related Anxiety

School refusal can be caused by anxiety – separating from parents, fear of bullying, problems with friendships, trouble with school work or teachers and are worth investigating.

Home Related Anxiety

Family problems (money issues, squabbling, separation/divorce), death of a family member or friend, harsh discipline or a traumatic experience eg. burglary can be a cause of anxiety (as well as depression).

What are the Signs

• Feeling sick – stomach aches, headaches. Not being able to stomach food.
• Feeling tense, fidgety, needing to go to the toilet often
• Feeling fearful or panicky, breathless, sweaty
• Being irritable, tearful, clingy or having sleeping difficulties
• Withdrawing from social contact

Anxiety can limit a person’s experiences in life. It can contribute to lack of confidence, loneliness, health problems and learning difficulties. The emotional effects if not remedied can be long lasting.

What to do

• Talk to your child –show your child that you care and want to understand the reasons for their anxiety.
• Give comfort, reassurance and practical help with how to cope eg. encourage helpful thoughts rather than focussing on unhelpful thoughts. (There are children’s books to help children cope with divorce, death, anxieties.)
• Prepare your child for changes. If possible give sufficient warning – talk to them about what might happen and why, as well as ways to manage the changes.
• For children with school/separation anxiety, regular routines and consistency around sleep, and getting ready for school, having breakfast etc will generally improve the outcome.
• Be aware of school or family situations that may be creating worries for your child.
• Be aware of your own anxiety and protect your child from taking on your woes.
• Use relaxation techniques eg controlling your breathing, listening to peaceful music, doing something you enjoy.
• Encourage daily exercise, healthy eating, drinking plenty of water, and most importantly getting enough sleep – children need at least 8 to 9 hours – Healthy body helps keep us on top of difficult situations.

If your child is so anxious that they can’t cope, more specialist help may be needed. Have a chat with your guidance officer, and/or see your doctor.

Adapted from Mental Health and Growing Up, 3rd Edition – Factsheets http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/info/mhgu/index.htm

Joy Wheeler – Guidance Officer

COMMUNITY NEWS

“This is a service provided when space permits. The school acts solely as a messenger and is not actually recommending any activities advertised”

Animal Welfare League – School Holiday Program

Kalwun Community Christmas Event

UPCOMING EVENTS