3 May 2019

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

Welcome back to the first addition of the Musgrave Hill Newsletter for Term 2.

All gave some, some gave all - Lest We Forget.

Congratulation to all the students of Musgrave Hill State School.

ANZAC Day is a very special part of Australian culture and one of the most important days on our calendar. I would like to congratulate all of our students for their excellent participation throughout our Anzac Day Ceremonies. Our assembly was a wonderful tribute to the service men and women of Australia. The respect shown by all students and the perfect performances by 2M, Singing Club, our dancers, the school leaders and student representatives ensured that our school’s Anzac ceremony was a memorable event for all who attended. A big thank you to Ms. Pearce, Ms. Kelsey, Ms. Newman and Ms. Wagg for the organisation and running of this ceremony.

NAPLAN

Term 2 is always an important term as our Year 3 and 5 students take part in the National Assessment Program, Literacy And Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing. These tests are designed to give a point in time snapshot of a child’s progress and to compare this progress with peers within the school, across the State and also across Australia. The tests will be held in Week 4 and parents of Years 3 and 5 will receive an individual student report later in the year. The end of Term 2 will also see formal written school report cards sent home for all students, outlining their broader achievements across all subjects for first semester.

Parent Teacher Interviews- Year 1 to Year 6

I can’t stress enough how important parent teacher interviews are for both parents and teachers. A close home school relationship with open communication is essential to improving student outcomes. Hopefully by now you have received a letter from your class teacher regarding our upcoming Parent/Teacher Interviews. The structure has changed slightly from previous years. Years 1 to 3 interviews consist only of Teacher and Parent. Years 4 to 6 will still be holding a 3 Way Interview where Student/Parent and Teacher are all involved in the process. Please take this opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher.

People on School Grounds and Early Arrivals

A reminder that for the safety of our students no parents/carers or visitors are to be on school grounds prior to 2.40pm unless attending a scheduled event. I really do appreciate your understanding and support in this matter.

I am becoming increasingly concerned at the number of students dropped off before 7:30am at school, unsupervised. Formal supervision at most schools starts at the time of the first bell. We have made a commitment to our community to start supervision from 8:00am to assist our families. No students should be arriving at school prior to 8:00am (closer to 8.40am would be preferable) as this is an unsafe practice and should not continue. Please find alternative arrangements for your children to be supervised or contact our Outside Hours School Care providers.

Issues with our Drop Off and Pick Up Zones

You would have noticed an increased presence of police patrolling this area in the mornings and afternoons. We are informed by the police that the signage in our pick up zones need reviewing and we are working hard to find a solution with the Council and Main Roads. I will continue to keep you informed as the situation unfolds.

Attendance

Attendance = Success

At Musgrave Hill State School our goal is to have a daily attendance rate of 95% and above in each year level, as you can see below from the Term 1 percentages, we are still falling way short of our targets in all bar Prep. We must continue to make Every Day Count so please send your children to school.

One or two days doesn’t seem much but…

Being a little late doesn’t seem much but…

Julie-Anne McGuinness - Principal

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Spell-Off 2019

In the last week of Term 1 we ran the Spell-Off Competition. A big congratulations to all of the students who participated.

Munch and Crunch at Musgrave Hill SS

Munch and Crunch is a nutritional brain break for our learners at Musgrave Hill SS. It is implemented across the school as a way to help kids stay healthy and happy!

Why have Munch and Crunch?

• Fruit and vegetables are full of nutrients and many of these nutrients are important for brain function.
• Eating fruit and vegetables reduces the chances of becoming overweight or obese
• It’s good for dental health. Munching on crunchy fruits help sweep away plaque
• Chewing raw fruit and vegetables demands more chewing. Chewing stimulates the hippocampus, the brain region that is involved with forming memories

Giving students the chance to re-fuel with fruit or vegetables helps to improve physical and mental performance and concentration in the classroom. Students in Prep and Year 1 have a 10 minute toilet and fruit or vegetable break. Students in Year 2 – 6 consume their fruit or vegetable while working in their classrooms.

Crazy Hair Day

Thank you for all those beautiful and quite original hair styles at Crazy Hair Day. Musgrave Hill SS together with the website set up for Reilly S who shaved his head for the occasion raised a whopping $786.76 which will go to the Leukaemia Foundation.

ASSEMBLY AWARDS

Tuckshop News

New Items at the Tuckshop

Chicken and Rice Soup – Tuesday Meal Deal $4.00 on its own or $6.00 in a meal.

Veggie Macaroni and Cheese - Tuesday Meal Deal $4.00 on its own or $6.00 in a meal.

Rainbow Paddle Pops - $1.50
Chocolate Paddle Pops - $1.50
Streets Ice Cream Tubs - $1.00

Orders taken over the counter or via Qkr! and Flexischools.

Uniform News

Our polo shirts, school jackets and hats have arrived. You can purchase over the counter or via Qkr!

Sally and Rachele - Tuckshop and Uniform Convenors

P&C NEWS

Fun Run

Thank you to all who raised money for the Fun Run we reached a total of over $22,000.00 -what an amazing effort! We ordered the prizes this week so they should be delivered to the school within the next 2 weeks. If you have any queries please come and see Sally or Rachele in the Tuckshop.

Mother’s Day

We will be holding a Mother’s Day stall at the Tuckshop on Tuesday 7/5, Wednesday 8/5 and Thursday 9/5 before school, little lunch and big lunch. All presents are $5.00 and under.

Melissa Holland - P&C President

UNDER 8’S DAY

Come and Join in the Fun

PREP 2020 – SCHOOL TOUR, COFFEE AND CHAT

SPORTS TALK

All Schools Cross Country

If you finished within the top 10 students for Cross Country last term and you enjoy running, maybe this event is for you! All school students are invited to participate in the 37th annual QA All Schools Cross Country Championships which are being held at Rivermount College, Yatala, on Saturday 4th May 2019. If this is something that you think you would like to go to with your family, click on the link below for further details.

Event details:

Mrs Halsall – Sports/Health Teacher

CLASSROOM CAPERS – PREP YELLOW

Prep Yellow have been busy little ‘sound detectives’ building their phonemic awareness. We have been listening carefully to words and exploring the sounds we use to say them. We have learned our first six sounds s, a, t, p, i, n and know the actions for each one. We’re so clever at building words using the letters that make those sounds. It’s been so much fun joining in all the learning games. The students are so happy to share their knowledge and are always listening out for the sounds in words and using their ‘duck hands’ to break them up and blend them back together. We are so excited to start using our sounds in our writing!

A WORD FROM OUR GUIDANCE OFFICER

Strategies to Move Towards Independence and Resilience

Strategies for Parents at home

• Play separation games. e.g. hide and seek and treasure hunts (with parents staying in same place and not following child while he/she hunts).
• Create baby steps of autonomy. e.g. you might be home for the first couple of sessions when there is a new babysitter, then start with small amounts of time away and slowly lengthen the times.
• Give your child a calming object and or something to remind him/her of you. E.g. stuffed animal, one of your scarves, photo, draw a face of mummy or daddy on your child’s hand.
• Visit in advance. Introduce child to get to know the school and staff. While there make an effort to avoid a constant presence so your child can experience what it is like without you there. Talk about the experience later and tell him/her what a great job he/she did.
• Develop a parting and reunion routine. E.g. it could include secret handshake. Don’t make the reunion a big deal to send the message that separation is normal. If he/she voices their concerns, listen, but as soon as you are able ensure you then explore positives and help your child to focus on these.
• Tell your child what to expect
  -in great detail so there are no surprises
  -Spread over several short conversations
  -In a relaxed and encouraging way with the attitude that he/she will be fine.
  Avoid talking about fears and concerns unless he/she brings them up. Acknowledge these feelings without giving them too much power, so they do not get blown out of proportion. After acknowledging, give reassurance that these feelings are normal and that s/he can deal with those feelings and ask for help from the teacher if he/she needs to. Then redirect to a productive activity.
• Tell stories that teach (helps to see situation from an outsiders perspective and takes the spotlight off the child )
  -Do I Have to Go to School: Pat Thomas (eBook available)
  Starting School: Jane Godwin (eBook available. Parent can watch YouTube clip prior to give ideas on how to discuss content) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss6dzoHNQSE
  The Invisible String: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVp9ZBmPu8o
  The Kissing Hand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXT1ANWka4A
• Practice skills: Role play the routine at home in a fun way. Siblings might like to help “play school.”
• Don’t plant worry seeds. Saying things like “Don’t worry, I will be right here.” “There is nothing to be afraid of” and “Everything will be fine,” can give children the idea that they really do have things to worry about. Instead make your comments positive and don’t make a big deal about everyday events.
• Arrange regular playdates. Children are likely to feel less anxiety when they have familiar friends to connect with.
• Relaxation and Coping Strategies: Belly breathing, guided mediation/relaxation.
• Encourage Independent Play. Gives him/her confidence in being independent.

At School

Develop a morning ritual. The ritual is designed to increase feelings of certainty and security for the child and to reduce emotional distress. This is to be both explained and rehearsed. The morning ritual requires two key steps:

Step 1: Establish a specific ‘see you later’ area.

• Ensure the area is age-appropriate. The place where the goodbye or separation from parent ritual occurs should be age-appropriate. For a child, in the beginning year of school the departure point for the parents might be a specific area such as the ‘see-you- later window’ or the ‘see-you-later step’ at the classroom door; for junior primary it could be where the children line up; and for older students it could be inside the front gate or at the school office. Over time, the distance between the drop-off point and the classroom can increase in incremental steps.
• Parent to neither draw out the separation nor to sneak away without saying ‘see you later’. Excessive reassurance by the parent and drawing out a goodbye can increase anxiety and subsequent distress. Similarly, a parent sneaking away can undermine the child’s ability to trust that the parent will return. Some children also like to be the one that walks away from you rather than watch you leave.
• Keep it casual. It is important to use more casual words such as ‘see you later’ rather than a formal ‘goodbye’, which can be perceived as more enduring.
• Parents to remain calm. Remain calm and matter-of-fact, and not to hover or linger during the morning ‘see you later’ ritual.
• Promise to return and remind child of the promise. Tie return to an event, rather than a time on the clock. When you return remind your child that you were there when you promised.

Step 2: Provide a structured or developmental play arrival activity.

• Develop a teacher intervention if the morning ritual fails. If the morning ritual fails and there is ongoing clinginess, tears, tantrums or other distress, implement a teacher intervention, for example,
• With a young child, the teacher might take the child gently by the hand and walk to a specified area and the parent will say ‘See you later. I will pick you up when the bell rings at the end of the day.’ The parent then leaves immediately.

References

• The No-Cry Separation Solution: Elizabeth Pantley
• Working with children with separation anxiety: Murray Evely and Zoe Ganim
• Do I Have to Go to School: Pat Thomas
• Starting School: Jane Godwin
• The Invisible String: Patrice Karst
• The Kissing Hand: Audrey Penn

Joy Wheeler – Guidance Officer

A WORD FROM OUR CHAPLAIN

If you have any questions please contact Chappy Rusty on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesdays for future information or inquiries.

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”

Bright Sprites Kids Art at Musgrave Hill State School

Labrador Kindergarten Open Day

Keebra Park Year 7 2020 Enrolments

Learn to Jump Rope

UPCOMING EVENTS