21 February 2020

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

The business of schooling is normally all sorted by now, with Day 8 done and dusted – but this year not so. The fires, floods and Coronavirus has certainly slowed normal proceedings down. Due to these unforeseen circumstances, Day 8 became Day 13. As mentioned in the previous newsletter our student numbers were approximately 570 as of Day 8, however this increased to 577 by Day 13. Even with this increase, no class changes have been necessary and we can continue with business as usual.

Year Level Parent Information Sessions

Thank you to the large number of parents/carers who attended our Parent Information Sessions last Wednesday, it was wonderful to see that strong partnership between home and school continuing. I would also like to acknowledge my teachers for preparing and presenting at these sessions. I am certain that the snapshot of information they provided about school priorities and the classroom routines, procedures and units of work will give you some insight into your child/ren’s education for 2020.

Attendance

I understand we have had an indifferent start to the school year, as mentioned above, but we have now completed week 4 and for the past two weeks, only 6 out of 23 classes have reach or exceeded our 95% attendance target. This is very concerning considering we have just begun a new school year. Every day at school is so important for student learning. Please help us support your children by ensuring their full and regular attendance so that we can give our maximum effort to every student in every lesson, every day.

Here is an interesting fact about the number of learning days and opportunities your child misses if they only attend school for 85% of the time. 85% attendance by the end of year 6 means your child has only received instruction equivalent to a child at a year 4 level. So please reflect on the amount of time your child is absent from school without a valid reason.

Notification of Student Absences using Mobile Phone Text Messages

At Musgrave Hill State School, student attendance and student safety is a high priority. To improve our attendance and safety procedures, we will be continuing to inform parents/caregivers about any unexplained absences for their child via mobile phone text message. It will be extremely beneficial for parents/caregivers to contact the school in advance if they know their child is to be absent or late.

Each day a SMS text message will be automatically sent to the mobile phones of parents explaining that our records show that your child is absent from school. Please save the number in your mobile phone under “Musgrave Hill State School” so that when the message arrives, you are aware the message has come from the school.

The message will read as follows:

Traffic Around the School

Unfortunately as Principal, I have no jurisdiction over traffic around the school. My role is to encourage and engage with the school community to request parents be aware of and follow the road rules and school rules relating to driving, parking, drop off and pick-ups around the school. It is the parents' responsibility to know and please follow the road rules.

Chaplaincy

Rusanne (Rusty) is the Chaplain here at Musgrave Hill State School and is currently here on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The Chaplain provides social, emotional and spiritual support to students, parents and staff. This support can take the form of assisting teachers or students in the classroom or playground and by organising and supervising fun activities for students to take part in during break times. Where consent is provided the Chaplain may also work one-on-one with students that would benefit from further support. If you have any questions about the chaplaincy program within the school, or the role of the chaplain, please contact the school office or visit the Scripture Union Queensland website on the link below:

Reminder Message from The Department- Accident Insurance Cover for Students

Some school activities and physical education, particularly contact sports, carry inherent risks of injury. Parents are advised that the department does not have Student Accident Insurance cover for students. If your child is injured at school as a result of an accident or incident, all costs associated with the injury, including medical costs, are the responsibility of the child, parent or caregiver.

Medicare may cover some incidental medical costs. If parents have private health insurance, some costs may also be covered through the private health insurance. Any other costs would be borne by the parents. Student Accident Insurance is an insurance policy that pays certain benefits in certain circumstances should your child have an accident.

It is a personal decision for parents as to the types and levels of private insurance they arrange to cover their child for any accidental injury that may occur. Parents should contact their insurer or an approved Australian insurance broker for more information about student personal accident insurance cover for their child.

Coronavirus Update

On Saturday 15 February 2020, the Queensland Government updated advice regarding the management of the Novel Coronavirus.

Self-quarantine advice (from 15 February 2020) is as follows:

If you have been to/or transited through mainland China in the last 14 days and are feeling unwell, see a doctor immediately.

The advice below is for anyone who has travelled to/or transited through mainland China in the past 14 days, or for anyone who has been in close contact with a confirmed case of Novel Coronavirus and is feeling well.

If you have been in, or transited through mainland China

• You need to self-quarantine for 14 days from the date you departed mainland China.
• If you begin to feel unwell and develop a fever or shortness of breath, a cough or a respiratory illness during your period of self-quarantine you should seek immediate medical attention. Call ahead to your GP or emergency department and mention your travel history before you arrive.
• If you experience any other symptom during your period of self-quarantine, you should also seek immediate medical attention and mention your travel history before you arrive.

If you have been in close contact with someone who is confirmed to have Novel Coronavirus

• You need to self-quarantine for 14 days from the last date of contact with the confirmed case.
• If you begin to feel unwell and develop a fever or shortness of breath, a cough or a respiratory illness during your period of self-quarantine you should seek immediate medical attention. Call ahead to your GP or emergency department and mention you have been in contact with someone with Novel Coronavirus before you arrive.
• If you experience any other symptom during your period of self-quarantine, you should also seek immediate medical attention and mention you have been in contact with a confirmed case before you arrive.

Julie-Anne McGuinness - Principal

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Spell-Off Competition

Last week notes were sent home about the Musgrave Hill State School Spell-Off. Students in Years 1-6 will practise their spelling words at home in preparation for the Musgrave Hill Spell-Off. The spell-off is an opportunity for families to partner with their child and their education.

Each class will determine a ‘Class Champion’ via a class spell-off. The Class Champions will then participate in a Year Level Spell-Off to determine the ‘Year Level Champion.’

Timeline:

16th – 18th March: Class finalists determined in classrooms

Year level Championships:

• Year 2: Monday 23rd March 9am
• Year 6: Monday 23rd March 10am
• Year 5: Tuesday 24th March 9am
• Year 4: Tuesday 24th March 10am
• Year 3: Wednesday 25th March 9am
• Year 1: Wednesday 25th March 10am

Lunch Time Clubs

SCHOOL PHOTO DAY – 10TH AND 11TH MARCH

IMPORTANT – DO NOT SEND CASH IN BEFORE PHOTO DAY THEN CASH IS TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE PHOTGRAPHER. PREFERED PAYMENT IS PAYING ON LINE.

ASSEMBLY AWARDS

Monday 10/2/2020

Monday 17/2/2020

TUCKSHOP NEWS

Just in case your children haven’t let you know, we have our Slushee machine up and running and I will be making it available on Qkr! so that our Prep students can order them. Our slushee’s are pear juice based and our flavours are generally pine-lime, tropical and orange. We are a very environmentally friendly school and we endeavour to cut down as much waste as possible so over the next few weeks I will be introducing a reusable cup for our slushees. I’m very hopeful the students will return the cups and there may even be some kind of loyalty card option as well (buy 4 get the 5th free???? if you return your cup each time)

Please remember that all tuckshop orders need to be placed before 9.15am daily, you can order on Qkr! or over the counter. We only make to order to keep our costs down so if you do happen to forget your child’s lunch just give us a call and we can arrange a vegemite or jam sandwich and a piece of fruit.

Please let your children know that we are now collecting milk bottles, poppers and water bottles for the Cash for Cans, all the money raised will be donated to the P&C. We have a little Environment Club starting very soon that will be tracking our recycling efforts and how much money we have raised by recycling. The money raised will be used to buy resources for the school.

Recipe of the Week –

Super Healthy Breakfast Muffins – Makes approx. 12 Muffins

Ingredients

• 7 eggs
• 2-3 tbsp milk
• Ingredient combinations of your choice; ham and cheese, capsicum and mushroom, ham and tomato, ricotta and spinach etc.
• Grated cheese (optional)
• Cooked quinoa (optional)
• Spray oil
• Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 190C. Spray your muffins trays with oil.
2. Whisk the eggs and milk together and season with salt and pepper.
3. Divide your chosen ingredient combos evenly in each muffin well (see picture).
4. Pour enough of the egg mixture in each muffin well to come to the top.
5. Garnish each muffin with a pinch of grated cheese (optional).
6. For extra protein, you can add a tablespoon of cooked quinoa into each of the muffins, this can give it a bit of a crunch (optional).
7. Bake for around 15 minutes. Allow to cool in the muffin trays and then remove.
8. These can be frozen if you would like to make a bulk lot.

These are great for breakfast, in the lunchbox, afternoon snack or even a nice easy dinner. Simply add a small side salad and presto dinner done in less than 30 minutes. If you have any questions regarding lunches or ordering please come up and see myself or Rach and we will do our best to help you out.

Uniform News

We have been instructed that our supplier has received a shipment of our uniforms and we should start to see deliveries arriving soon. I’m very hopeful that by the time you have read this we have already received them. I’d like to thank you all once again for your patience and understanding during this time. As soon as we receive the goods and pack the orders for those that have already been purchased, we will be notifying the teachers and staff and will notify parents via text, QSchool, Qkr!, and on the notice board out the front of the school.

Sally and Rachele – Tuckshop and Uniform Convenors

P&C NEWS

Firstly I’d like to welcome you all back, I hope everyone had an amazing break. We have a few ideas this year for our fundraising efforts but we are also looking forward to sitting down with our existing and new members to brainstorm some fun ideas. Over the Christmas break our first installation of the new playground was completed and we can’t wait to see what the children vote on for the next section of the playground.

Our P&C meet every 2nd Thursday of the month at 2.00pm in the science room in the library. Our next meeting will be 12th March 2020, I look forward to meeting some new families and welcome back our existing members. Our P&C is always striving to raise money to help out the school in many ways and we ensure that all funds given for resources or equipment are accessible to all students.

As the first term is filled with many expenses for families, we will only be holding our Crazy Hair Competition fundraiser this term which is simply a gold coin donation that goes to the Leukaemia Foundation. There will be more information sent out over the next month in regards to this day.

We are also looking to start a Coins for Bottles ongoing fundraiser in the next couple of weeks so keep an eye out.

Kind regards
Sally McWilliams - P&C Treasurer

CLASSROOM CAPERS – PREP PURPLE

PREP 2021 – ENROL NOW

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC NEWS

Dear Music Students and Parents,

Instrumental Music lessons for Band and Strings have started.

Please check your relevant timetables and make sure you come to your lesson at the correct time each week. Timetables are located in and around the hall, administration and all relevant classrooms have a current copy. Students and parents can request a current timetable in digital or hard copy at any time during the term.

The music room has now flooded for the fifth time this summer. Repairs and drainage have commenced and the music room will be out of bounds until they are completed.

Band lessons will be in the school hall on Mondays for the remainder of Term 1.

String lessons will be in the school hall on Thursdays for the remainder of Term 1.

We are running an alternate Instrumental Music program this term while we get all remaining instruments replaced and issued to students. If your child does not yet have an instrument or book, they can still come to (our alternate) IM lessons.

Band Rehearsals

There will be NO before school band rehearsals for the remainder of Term 1.

Before school rehearsals for band students are scheduled to start in Term 2, Week 2

It certainly has been a challenging start for music this year but we are underway and making great music happen. Thanks again to all students, staff and parents for their understanding, patience and positive support.

Yours in music,
Mr Denning and Miss Williams

eLEARNING NEWS

Are they safe enough?

The single biggest question from parent information sessions about using the internet is about how to keep our children safe online. The second is about how much screen time is too much.

They are tough questions, with lots of differing opinions.

The fact is that we live in a digital world where we cannot get through a day without accessing a digital device, and more often than not, the internet.

We need to teach our children to be digital citizens and focus on the key messages from the eSafety Commissioner of ‘The Four R’s’: Respect, Responsibility, Reasoning and Resilience.

The school value at the forefront of all school dealings is Respect. Treating others how we want to be treated must be the focus of all interactions on the Internet so that our digital footprint reflects a positive view of ourselves.

We need to ensure that we remind our children to take Responsibility for what they say and do on the internet to make it a positive experience for everyone. We also need to encourage them to take a stand when behaviour online is not appropriate.

Reasoning about what is real and not on the internet is a necessity to be a consumer of information and goods online. Critical reasoning skills of being able to tell what is true and what is shady or too good to be true are crucial for all people using the internet.

As hard as we try, there may be times where children are exposed to issues online. Building Resilience in our children to give them coping strategies to move on from tough experiences is a crucial life skill, whether from online or offline situations.

We all have a role to play in helping our children to become responsible and respectful digital citizens. Future newsletters will explore strategies that parents can use to promote cybersafety as well as exploring some of the apps that young people are keen to use.

If you would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Annette Vlaanderen
avlaa2@eq.edu.au

A WORD FROM OUR GUIDANCE OFFICER

Parenting Program

A WORD FROM OUR CHAPLAIN

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club on the veranda outside the school hall every Thursday from 8am until 8.30am.

We welcome and thank all of our Breakfast Club volunteers who begin another year of serving the MHSS students. Your service and dedication is greatly appreciated!

Chappy Rusanne (Rusty)

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”

Keebra Park High School Academy and Excellence Program

Year 7 Students 2021

Broadwater Netball Club Needs Players

UPCOMING EVENTS