27 November 2020

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

The End is in Sight

Many words have been used to describe the year and I am sure that we could all come up with a list of many more! We cannot underestimate the effect, the uncertainty and disruption it has had on our students even though we have worked hard to maintain a sense of normality and predictability in the face of changed routines and activities. In the main, our students have displayed enormous resilience and adaptability, which will serve them well in life.

The end of the school year is fast approaching and the school has a very ‘busy’ feel to it as students and teachers finish off the year’s programs. Many students are already talking about their holiday break and the Year 6’s are sharing their nervous excitement as they prepare to move into high school and a new phase of their educational journey. I would like to remind all students that school rules and expectations are in place right up until the final day of school.

As this will be our last newsletter for 2020, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our parents/carers for your continual support of not only myself but also the school as a whole. Students, staff and parents working together is a key ingredient to enhancing student outcomes and creating a great place in which to learn. Thank you for your support in making this a reality at Musgrave Hill State School.

What Will Day One 2021 Look Like at Musgrave Hill

It is important to note that while restrictions are easing even more in Queensland, COVID safe requirements are still in operations and must be followed and enforced. There has been much conjecture through different media sources regarding what Day One of the 2021 school year will look like. Schools must still comply with the Chief Health Officer’s guidelines ensuring we have COVID 19 control measures in place, so while it may appear a simple process to allow access to parents/carers and visitors on site, in reality it is not. It is still a very complex process to manage.

Examples of just some of the measures required by schools to follow-:

• Physical Distancing of 1.5m for all adults.
• Schools can continue to limit gathering of adults before or after school, in the car park, at drop-off and pick-up times.
• No more than one person per 2m2 in an indoor space, which includes classrooms.
• If practicable, set up separate exit and entry points.
• Contact tracing information is required for anyone who enters the grounds.

What do these guidelines and measures mean for our parents/carers and students on Day One?

Process for Year 1 to 6 students-:

We know and understand one of the most important days on the school calendar is the first day of school therefore we are developing a COVID safe plan which will allow one parent/carer to escort their child/ren into the school, via our front gate only, following a specific path heading straight up to the Meet and Greet area. Here you can drop your child/ren off in their designated class areas where their teacher will be waiting before you exit via a different route.

Unfortunately, parents/carers will not be able to stay; it will be a quick drop, kiss and go. You can drop child/ren off in the Drop-Off Zone and there will be staff available to direct students to their correct areas. There will be many staff available on the day to ensure the process runs as smoothly as possible. We will operate this plan for the first week only. We then ask parents/carers adopt the process of kiss and go at the front gate as we have done this year and students enter the school grounds on their own. We will continue to have an abundance of staff on hand to ensure your child/ren are safety escorted into the school grounds.

At the end of the day all students will be escorted down to the Pick-Up Zone where parents/carers can either wait outside the gates ensuring 1.5m physical distancing, stay in your car and utilise the pick-up zone or students will be released from this area to walk home. Parents/Carers are not to enter the school grounds to collect their children.

If parents/carers are requiring to meet personally with teachers within the first few days, please contact via email or through the front office so we can ensure this can be arranged.

Preps in 2021-:

This information will be sent home separately to all parents/carers of our 2021 Prep students prior to the end of the school year.

Staffing and Classes for 2021

One of the biggest challenges each year is the construction and organisation of classes for the following year. To help us be as accurate as possible and minimise any changes at the start of next year please let the office know if you are moving next year and not returning to Musgrave Hill in 2021.

Notification of Extended Holidays at the Start of 2021

School resumes on Wednesday, 27 January 2021. If your child will not be returning to school until after this date due to extended holiday, please advise the office. Extended absence forms are available from the school office.

The staffing and class formation process continues right through until the first few weeks of next year. Preparation and planning are designed to limit any changes and adjustments to classes on Day 8 of next year.

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.

Semester 2 Reporting- What does a C really mean??

As your child’s report will be emailed out on Tuesday 8th 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/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. 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.

One of our School values is Excellence and we encourage all students to strive to achieve 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. If you have queries about your child’s report card, please contact your current class teacher/s.

Return Date for 2021

Please note that the school year will start on Wednesday 27th January. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and safe, relaxing holiday.

Julie-Anne McGuinness – Principal

WHAT’S HAPPENING

2021 School Leaders

Congratulations to our Musgrave Hill 2021 student leaders! There has been a rigorous process for the candidates to receive a leadership position. Firstly, was a written application in which the students wrote why they would be a good leader for our school community, how they demonstrate our four school values and listed all the extra-curricular activities they have participated in.

Teacher feedback was provided by candidate’s current teachers and specialist teachers. The students were then scored in a variety of categories including academic effort, behaviour, attendance, demonstration of our four school values and their extra-curricular commitments.

Next all candidates were interviewed by Mr Bird and Ms Hall. After this, shortlisted students presented speeches to their peers and teachers. They received a score based on their speech, and then after the speeches the school community had the opportunity to vote. The student leaders listed below are the candidates who scored the highest once all four components had been added together.

I present to you, our 2021 Student Leaders

STUDENT RESOURCE SCHEME - 2021

Cost - $150.00

If you have previously opted in to the SRS your participation is assumed for the remainder of your child's enrolment, unless you inform the school otherwise by completing a new participation agreement form.

The SRS Invoices for 2021 has been issued.

The best payment option is the BPOINT link at the bottom of the invoice because the payment can be made in full or in parts. This link can be used multiple times.

If your student has a credit on their account, that credit will be applied to their 2021 SRS invoice.

Please note the office is not taking cash payment at present but EFTPOS is available.

The office will be closed for all payments after 27/11/2020 for end of year financial closure procedures.

TUCKSHOP NEWS

Sushi Day

We have our last Sushi Day on Thursday 3rd December, all orders need to be in by Wednesday 2nd December at 9:00am. We have the following available:

Chicken Bento Box - $10.00
Teriyaki Salad - $8.00
Twin Packs - $5.00
- Avocado
- Beef Teriyaki
- California Roll
- Smoked Salmon & Avocado
- Chicken & Avocado
- Teriyaki Chicken
- Honey Soy Chicken
- Tuna & Mayo
- Tuna & Avocado
Soy Sauce - $0.30
Kewpie Mayo - $0.30

Lost Property

There are still a number of lost property items outside the tuckshop. Can you please remind your children to come and see if any items belong to them as unfortunately at the end of the year I will have to throw or donate any items that are left.

Tuckshop Winding Down

Due to stock take and end of year functions we will only have vegemite, jam or honey sandwiches available in week 9. The tuckshop will be closed in week 10.

Uniform News

All orders need to be placed on Qkr and will be delivered to the classrooms on the next day. The Uniform Shop will be closed from 4th December until January 2021.

Run Club Badges

All badges need to be ordered via the Qkr App and will be handed out each Friday. The last Friday for this year will be the 4th December 2020.

I hope you all have a magnificent holiday and we look forward to seeing you all return for 2021.

Sally McWilliams – Tuckshop/Uniform Convenor

Senior Musgrave Way Award 17/11/2020

Junior Musgrave Way Award 24/11/2020

CLASSROOM CAPERS – 1 JADE

Mrs Lees/Mrs Honeycombe – Classroom Teachers

PREP 2021

Prep Transition Day Thursday 3rd December 9.30 – 11.00am

CLASSROOM CAPERS – 2 INDIGO

Beenleigh Historical Village

This term 2 Indigo along with the other year 2’s excitedly headed off to Beenleigh Historical Village and Museum as part of our HASS unit, Changing Technologies. On what was a beautiful Spring day, students participated in old-fashioned laundry activities, observed various printing machines in action, spoke to the blacksmith about all things metal, visited the old school and the Old Coomera Watch House.

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day is a special day at Musgrave Hill State School and this year, as we learned about the significance of the day, we created these beautiful poppy artworks. The background is the “Ode of Remembrance” taken from Laurence Binyon's poem " For the Fallen ", which was first published in The Times in September 1914.

Ms Parsons – Classroom Teacher

A WORD FROM OUR GUIDANCE OFFICER

Dealing with Video Gaming Addiction

What Can Parents Do?

Address the problem:

In a two-parent household, it is critical that both parents present a united front. As parents, each must take the issue seriously and agree on common goals. Discuss the situation together and if necessary, compromise on desired goals so that when you approach your child, you will be coming from the same page. If you do not, your child will appeal to the more sceptical parent and create division between you.

In a single-parent household, the parent needs to take some time to think about what needs to be said and to prepare for the likely emotional response from the child. A child who is addicted to the Internet or becoming addicted to it will feel threatened at the very idea of curbing computer time. A single parent needs to be prepared for an emotional outburst laden with accusatory phrases designed to make the parent feel guilty or inadequate. It is important not to respond to the emotion—or worse yet, get side-tracked with a lecture on disrespect. Acknowledge your child’s feelings but stay focused on the topic of his or her Internet use.

Show you care:

It will help to begin your discussion by reminding your child that you love him or her and that you care about his or her happiness and well-being. Children often interpret questions about their behaviour as blame and criticism. You need to reassure your child that you are not condemning him or her. Rather, tell your child you are concerned about some of the changes you have seen in his or her behaviour and refer to those changes in specific terms: fatigue, declining grades, giving up hobbies, social withdrawal.

Set reasonable rules:

Many parents get angry when they see the signs of Internet addiction in their child and take the computer away as a form of punishment. Others become frightened and force their child to quit cold turkey, believing that is the only way to get rid of the problem. Both approaches invite trouble– your child will internalize the message that they are bad; they will look at you as the enemy instead of an ally; and they will suffer real withdrawal symptoms of nervousness, anger, and irritability. Instead, work with your child to establish clear boundaries for limited Internet usage. Allow perhaps an hour per night after homework, with a few extra weekend hours. Stick to your rules and remember that you’re not simply trying to control him or her - you are working to free them of a psychological dependence.

Joy Wheeler – Guidance Officer

2021 SCHOOL CROSSING SUPERVISOR VACANCY

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”

School Holiday Program – Free Activities – Gold Coast City Council

Strictly for Ages 12 to 17

Programs held at

• Coomera
• Pacific Pines
• Runaway Bay
• Nerang
• Upper Coomera
• Thrower House – Palm Beach

UPCOMING EVENTS