27 July 2018

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

Welcome back to yet another exciting chapter in the Musgrave Hill State School journey. I trust everyone had a restful and enjoyable holiday. A special welcome to the families who have joined our school community. It has been lovely to see so many happy children settling in well.

Director General of Education Visits Musgrave Hill

Tony Cook is the new Director General for Education Queensland and he has been travelling the State visiting a number of schools. When Tony hit the South East Region last Friday, Musgrave Hill State School was a school on his must see list. He was extremely impressed with every aspect of our school in particular the values we adhere to and the positive culture we have created within all aspects of our school and community. So thank you Musgrave for continuing to excel and showing others why we are the school of choice for many families.

NAIDOC Celebrations

On Tuesday the 26th of June MHSS held our NAIDOC celebration. All classes across the school attended an assembly hosted by Culiah Thompson and Nate Purdy. This year’s celebration was ‘BECAUSE OF HER WE CAN’, a celebration of the invaluable contributions that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have made, continue to make, with our communities, our families, our rich history and to our nation. We were extremely lucky to have the Southport State High School, Deadly Choir perform on the day for our students. They performed both the national anthem and a traditional song. As a school we would like to thank the Deadly Choir, Kelsey Davies and our families for their support and contributions on the day.

School Opinion Survey

Every year Education Queensland conduct a School Opinion Survey. Next week the eldest in the family will bring home a letter with clear instructions on how to complete the survey. The survey is completely confidential with a one-use code for completing the survey on line. Your opinion matters so please take the time to have your say. The survey will be available until the 24th August.

Facebook Pages and Posts

As you may be aware, comments posted online about people and organisations can impact permanently on their digital reputation. This includes teachers, other staff, students and the school. There can be very real negative consequences from online posts and relationships between school staff, students and parents can be damaged.

I would like to again state that Musgrave Hill State School does not have an official Facebook page nor do we have any other social media sites that we are affiliated with. Q Schools has been adopted by the school as our method of keeping parents informed. Please note that any unauthorised sites listing or naming the school name, names of students or staff, photos of students or staff is in breach of the information privacy principles under the Information Privacy Act.

If you or your child are posting information online about the school, staff or students, I ask that you consider the ramifications of these comments on the school and any individuals in the school community. Rather than airing complaints or grievances in a public forum like Facebook, I implore you to please speak to the school first about how we can resolve your concerns together.

I thank you for your support in this matter.

Change to P & C Meetings

We are trialling a change of time and day for this Semester’s P & C meeting in the hope more parents are able to attend. P & C meetings will now be held on the second Thursday of the month at 2pm in the school staffroom. All are welcome to attend.

New Parking Restriction Signs

You have probably already noticed that Nakina Street now has a 2 hour parking limit unless otherwise signed. Please ensure you are aware of this change as I believe this is going to be monitored closely over the coming months.

Julie-Anne McGuinness – Principal

ASSEMBLY AWARDS

16th July 2018

23rd July 2018

25th June 2018

TUCKSHOP NEWS

Welcome back everybody I hope you all had a great break. This Term we are introducing a few new items to the tuckshop menu.

You can order tuckshop via flexiSchools.com.au and over the counter with cash or EFTPOS. Would you please have your over the counter orders to the tuckshop by 9.00am. Flexischools remains open until 9.15am for daily orders.

Please be aware that there are some restrictions with Little Lunch and Big Lunch orders over the counter for the children. As we don't encourage sharing between students I would like to inform you that the maximum amount of ice blocks, chips and drinks they can buy in a single transaction are as follows:

3 x Jelly Sticks
1 x Ice Block
1 x Chips
1 x Drink

I hope this clears up any confusion the children are having. They have only 20-30 minutes to finish these items and we have found that buying too many results in them having to throw them out.

Uniform News

Please note our new uniforms are in production and should not be too much longer. If you have any questions please come to the tuckshop.

Sally McWilliams - Tuckshop and Uniform Convenor

P&C NEWS

Our Fun Run was a great success and I'd like to thank each and every person for contributing towards our playground upgrade. The school managed to raise over $10,000.00 which is totally amazing. The class that raised the most was Prep Orange with just over $1,100.00, the biggest individual fundraiser was Braxton P. in Year 1 with over $600.00 and our lucky winner of the Hover Board was Cooper W. All round it was a great success and I really look forward to seeing what we can do next time.

Our next fundraiser is our Father’s Day stall. This will be held from the 27th August to the 30th August at the tuckshop before school, at little lunch and big lunch. All gifts will be $5.00 and under.

Melissa Holland - P&C President

CLASSROOM CAPERS – 2 RED

In Term 2, 2 Red learnt all about Sea Creatures and how to write an informative text about SHARKS.

We went on an excursion to Sea World and learnt LOTS and got to see……

SHARKS, DOLPHINS, PENGUINS AND TURTLES

In technology we made a diorama based on what we learnt about Sea Creatures throughout the term. We used plasticine, sand, paint, pipe cleaners, cellophane, egg cartons, shoe boxes and shells. These dioramas were so much fun to make and take home to share with our families.

Miss Aitchison – Classroom Teacher

PREP 2018

Prep Information Session

RED IMPORTED FIRE ANTS SIGHTINGS

Red imported fire ants have been recently found at Hope Island, Helensvale and Labrador on the Gold Coast.

Biosecurity Queensland’s National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program (the Program) is working closely with the landowners to coordinate the destruction of the infestation and to stop further spread.

Surveillance is continuing in surrounding areas to determine if there are any more nests.

As well as our own surveillance efforts, we rely heavily on the community and industry to be our eyes on the ground and advise of any suspect ants immediately.

How can you help?

Biosecurity Queensland urges all residents and business operators in Hope Island, Helensvale, Paradise Point, Hollywell, Runaway Bay, Coombabah, Arundel, Molendinar, Ashmore, Southport, Main Beach, Labrador, Biggera Waters, and Parkwood to check their properties, gardens and work sites, and report any suspect looking ants.

You can identify fire ants by their nest which looks like a mound of loose soil with no visible entry or exit holes.

Fire ants are very small, 2–6 millimetres in size, and come in a range of sizes in the one nest. They are coppery-brown in colour and have a darker coloured abdomen.

Here are the top five places you are likely to find fire ants:

How to check for fire ants

When checking a nest for fire ants, grab a long stick and gently poke the nest with it and look at the ants that come out. If they are all different sizes and coppery-brown in colour and have a darker coloured abdomen, they may be fire ants. Be careful not to get too close to the nest, as fire ants are aggressive, can inflict painful stings and will swarm when disturbed.

You can report fire ants in 2 easy steps

1. Take a close-up photo of any suspicious ants or nests.
2. Send us the photo and complete the ‘Yard check report’ online at www.daf.qld.gov.au/fireants or call 13 25 23.

Fire ants are one of the worst invasive species to reach Australia’s shores and can ruin our lifestyle, restricting everyday activities such as barbeques, picnics and sporting events.

Australia is the closest any country has come to eradicating fire ants, but we still have a lot of work to do to beat this serious invasive pest.

We urge residents to continue to check their yards, local parks and recreational areas for fire ants. With continued public vigilance we aim to eradicate them once and for all.

A WORD FROM OUR GUIDANCE OFFICER

Mental health basics: Suggestions for families

Things can happen in children’s lives that make the risk of developing mental health problems more likely. It is usually not possible to eliminate all the risk factors that affect your children, but there are things you can do to reduce the impact of stress and help them build strengths for effective coping. The following suggestions identify the sorts of things you can do to support children’s resilience in the face of challenging circumstances.

How you can help

• Spend time with children by having fun playing games, going to the park or going somewhere together as a family.
• Try to maintain routines as much as possible. Routines and consistency help children feel secure.
• Build and maintain supportive relationships with family, friends and early childhood staff. Talk with them about how they can best support you and your child during hard times. Tell staff about any concerning behaviour you are noticing at home.
• Try to help children to understand and manage their feelings; this can help them develop coping skills.
• Help children learn to cope with loss and change by providing support and reassurance, honesty and clarity. Help them also to understand that loss and stress are a normal part of life.
• Acknowledge children’s feelings and try to understand and respect them, especially when they are going through a difficult time. Offer support and reassurance by asking questions and letting them talk about their feelings.
• Try to support children in building their internal protective factors (eg good communication and problem-solving and social skills) by acknowledging and encouraging their skills when guiding their behaviour.

Listen to children’s concerns

Having a caring adult to turn to when they are troubled, someone who will listen, understand without judging, and help them solve problems, is a critical protective factor for children’s mental health. Listening to children and understanding their concerns lets them know they are important to you. Remember, however, that children may not always be able to explain how they feel. By observing their behaviour and gently inquiring about it you can often get a clearer picture of how they are feeling.

Provide reassurance

Children often worry that the bad things they experience will happen again or get worse. For example, in a family breakup, when one parent or carer leaves the family, children often become anxious that the remaining parent or carer will also leave them. Similar worries are common when someone dies or is hospitalised. Often these kinds of fears are expressed through behaviours rather than words, such as becoming clingy, or being fearful about sleeping by themselves. Showing you understand children’s fears and providing reassurance and support is important for helping them cope. Making sure that children know what to do and who to seek help from in case you are unavailable or unwell is also very important – particularly when chronic illness or stress may affect your capacity to provide support.

Provide security

Various kinds of stress and change can be very disruptive to family life. Maintaining regular routines, such as bedtimes and mealtimes, reduces disruptive impacts and helps to provide a sense of stability and security for children. Similarly, children are reassured by knowing that a responsible adult is taking care of them and looking after their needs.

Build children’s strengths – and allow for vulnerabilities

Providing encouragement and positive feedback for children’s developing coping skills helps them to build confidence in their ability to manage difficult situations. Acknowledging and appreciating the help and support that children provide to you during stressful times also helps to build their strengths.

At the same time, it is important to give children permission to not always have to be strong. Children who take on significant caring roles when parents or carers are struggling often hide their vulnerabilities. Their desire to avoid burdening parents and carers can cause additional hardship for these children, who need to know that support is available to them as well.

Talk to school staff

School staff can provide more effective support for children at school when they understand some of the pressures they may be facing in other parts of their lives. It is often very reassuring for children as well as for parents and carers to know that teachers or other school staff understand their difficulties and are ready to provide support. Staff at your child’s school may also be able to provide you with support and advice, or help you find support services that can assist you and your children.

Seek additional help

If your child shows signs of emotional or behavioural difficulties, it is important to seek professional help early, so that problems can be addressed before they get worse. Getting support for yourself, through family and friendship networks, your child’s school, or mental health or community services, is also very important. Getting support helps to build your own resilience so you can provide more effective care for your children.

From: https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/mental-health-matters/mental-health-basics-promoting-mental-health/suggestions-families

Joy Wheeler – Guidance Officer

A WORD FROM OUR CHAPLAIN

Week 3 of Roles of a Chaplain

Who Do School Chaplains Talk to?

I feel very privileged to serve as Chaplain at such an awesome school as MHSS. Please know that you can contact me anytime if you feel I can be of any support to you, your student and your families. My days at school are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Chappy Rusty

LOST

A child’s denture plate (see below) has been lost at YMCA vacation care at our school during the June/July holidays. It was in a container which also had poly denture glue and cotton wool.

Please keep an eye out for it and if you find it, kindly hand it into the office.

KEEBRA PARK STATE HIGH SCHOOL

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”

Soccer at Musgrave Hill State School – Monday Afternoons

Starting in Term 3, Soccer X will be running a 7 week After School Soccer programme at Musgrave Hill State School every Monday from 3pm - 4pm beginning 6 August. The programme is available to students from Prep – Year 6. Children will be split into groups according to age.

All sessions will be run by qualified coaches who hold blue cards. The sessions will be fully inclusive & fun based, catering for all abilities. For more information and online registrations please visit the website below. If you have any questions please call 0414 507689.”

Rookies to Reds Program at Musgrave Hill State School

Basketball

Places are filling fast for our Under 9 competition for Term 3 at North Gold Coast Seahawks Basketball Inc. Games are played each week on a Saturday morning at Coomera Indoor Stadium - commencing from Sat 21st July. We are targeting new participants born 2010 / 2011 / 2012 to come and join in the fun at Seahawks! For further information on this U/9 program go here:

Bright Sprites Art Classes at Musgrave Hill State School

Little Athletics

The Little Athletics motto ‘Family Fun and Fitness’ highlights that Little athletics is a community activity involving the whole family on a weekly basis. A place where athletes are encouraged to improve their own performance, develop confidence and social skills in a supportive environment, all while having fun.

Rotary Club Fundraiser

The Rotary Club of Gold Coast has been a generous supporter of the Gold Coast Regional Botanic Gardens by providing funds for an Education Pavilion and Interpretive Signage through the Gardens to educate visitors, especially school children.

This club is organising the Gold Coast Ramble which is a FUN Day to raise funds for local Gold Coast charities with particular emphasis on the plight of the homeless on the Gold Coast.

All funds go back to the community as Rotarians are all volunteers.

UPCOMING EVENTS