8 February 2021

Newsletter Articles

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

Welcome back to what I’m sure will be another very exciting year. To our existing families it is great to see you back ready to go in 2021. To our new families a big Musgrave Hill welcome to you. You have chosen to be a part of an amazing school and community.

After the second week of our school year has drawn to a close, I am happy to report that our students have settled in to their new classes with work and routines already fully established. This smooth start is a credit to the staff here at Musgrave. Getting a school ready to begin each year takes a lot of hard work and a champion team of people who all deserve our thanks.

Let’s talk

In school communities, communication is vitally important. Information to school and information from school help us to work in partnership with you to give the best possible opportunities for all students. To help facilitate this, our three Deputy Principals are each responsible for a sector of the school to provide an enhanced service delivery. By looking after a sector of the school, each Deputy Principal will be able to form a deeper, more informed understanding of your child’s needs and progress. I encourage parents to work closely with their specific Sector Deputy and make them your next point of contact if you wish to discuss issues beyond the class teacher level. The sectors for each Deputy Principal in 2021 are - Prep and Inclusion, Mr. Luke Kenelley; Year 1 and 2, Ms. Bridget Bartolo and Years 3 to 6 Ms. Tamara Hall.

Safety precautions around the pandemic

I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all parents/carers who have shown tremendous support and understanding around our social distancing guidelines and school restrictions to help keep everyone in our community safe and most importantly help prevent the spread of COVID. Our before school and after school procedures are working well, and I ask everyone to just remain a little patient, as even without the virus it can get very busy trying to deliver or collect 600 students to and from school. I would like to remind parents of the following processes-:

Mornings-:

All access via front gate near Prep Buildings

• Please ensure students don’t arrive prior to 8.15am.
• All students will go straight to their designated Meet and Greet Areas.
• We encourage parents to utilise the Drop-Off Zone.
• Parents can park in allocated parking zones and walk their child to the front gate.
• If you feel you still need to escort your child to their Meet & Greet area for a little while longer, please ensure you follow these procedures and one parent only -:
  o You only go to Meet and Greet Areas
  o Enter school via front gate
  o Follow the fence line; continue behind the tuckshop to the hall
  o Find your child’s class line, kiss and go
  o Unfortunately, it is not a time to have a meeting with the class teacher, if you have any questions or concerns please email so an appointment can be made
  o Exit via the back of the school via the dirt road out to the car park
  o Please do not walk back through the school
  o Prep parents can exit school via Prep gates

Afternoons-:

• Prep to Year 2 parents please ensure you collect your child/ren at 2.30pm (unless they have older siblings in Year 3 to 6)
• Year 3 to 6 parents please don’t arrive prior to 2.45pm, as you will be asked to move on and re-join the queue so we can keep moving the cars through for families of only Prep to Year 2 students.

As I have written previously, currently we are extremely lucky in Queensland, as our lives have returned to as close to normal as this pandemic allows, however, we do need to remain vigilant and cautious. Events in Western Australia over the weekend have demonstrated that the pandemic has not gone away. The precautions we still need to take to keep our community safe will affect some activities undertaken at school.

As always - any adult or child who is showing signs of illness such as COVID-19 symptoms, or feeling unwell, must stay at home and get tested. If a child is showing signs of illness at school, the school will contact the parent or carer to collect the child.

Name Signs

To make the Pick-Up Zone operate more effectively can we ask that you have the name of your child/ren clearly and largely displayed on your dash. We are more than happy to make this sign up for you, just let the ladies in the office know you need a sign and we will get this to you ASAP.

Staffing 2021

Apart from our regular teaching team, 2021 introduces a couple of new faces to Musgrave Hill State School- Shelley Richardson joins our Year 5 Team, David Croucher our Year 6 Team and Kylie Wilkinson our Arts Teacher on a Tuesday and Wednesday. We also welcome back Aileen Burke from extended leave and Bridget Bartolo from maternity leave.

Uniforms

A massive thank you to our families for the tremendous effort you have made ensuring your child/ren are fully decked out in the appropriate uniform. Please don’t hesitate to contact the school if you are experiencing financial difficulties, as we are more than happy to support families wherever possible to ensure all students are in correct uniform and the right black shoes in 2021.

The leading sport shoe companies all have a variety of black shoes available in their range now as they realise more and more schools insist their students wear black shoes as part of the uniform policy. I have also spoken to many Podiatrists and have been assured that they too have a black shoe range that would accommodate any child with orthotics or other foot issues.

Julie-Anne McGuinness – Principal

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Spell-Off Competition

Notes are being sent home about the Musgrave Hill State School Spell-Off Competition. Students in Year 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:

15-19th March: Class finalists are determined in classrooms

Year level Championships:

• Year 6: Wednesday 24th March 9am
• Year 4: Wednesday 24th March 10am
• Year 2: Thursday 25th March 9am
• Year 5: Thursday 25th March 10am
• Year 1: Friday 26th March 9am
• Year 3: Friday 26th March 10am

FINANCE NEWS

How does finance work in Musgrave Hill State School?

Excursions

Your child will receive a note with all the excursion details.
You will receive an emailed invoice for the excursion.
If you wish your child to attend please pay using the Bpoint link on bottom of the invoice as this is the fastest and most secure method of payment.

If your child doesn't attend the excursion you will receive an emailed adjustment note to inform you that the original invoice has been removed from your child's account.

Statements

During the year you will receive at statement to inform you of your account balance.
When checking the statement remember that a positive balance (+) amount is owed to the school and a negative balance (-) amount is a credit on the account.

If you have a credit (-) on the account you can apply these funds to excursion invoices.

Janette Connolly – Business Manager

TUCKSHOP NEWS

Welcome back everyone I hope you had the most amazing break and maybe the kids helped out with some of the meals over Christmas as well.

Just a reminder that all lunches need to be ordered via the Qkr! App or on the Qkr! website. The cut off time for ordering is 9:15am daily. Don’t worry if you miss this we still have our ‘Late Lunch Order’ Menu which consists of a muffin and fruit for lunch and a vegemite or jam sandwich for afternoon tea.

Our break times are as follows:

If you have ordered tuckshop but your child cannot attend school please ring and notify us as we make all food to order and unfortunately if we haven’t been notified that the child is away we will still make the food. If you contact us we are more than happy to hold it off till the following day or if it’s a Meal Deal Special we can hold it till the following week. If you have any queries or concerns please don’t hesitate to call the tuckshop regarding this.

Our first Sushi day will be next Thursday 11th February. All orders need to be placed on Qkr! by 9:00am on Wednesday 10th February. We have the following items available:

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

All sushi is provided by Sushi Pro and is made off site, if you have any concerns please visit at the link below.

Uniform News

All uniform orders need to be placed via the Qkr! App or on the Qkr! Website. Orders are then delivered to the students within 24 hours of purchase. If you haven’t received your order please phone the uniform shop or send an email to uniformshop@musgravehillss.eq.edu.au

Unfortunately our size 4 uniforms are still being held in Brisbane in quarantine, as soon as we receive them they will be sent out to all students who were missing items. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents and carers for their patience with our new uniform booking system, it is greatly appreciated.

Senior Shirts for Year 6 only

We will be doing another order for senior shirts this term. The order form will need to be returned by 12th March 2021, they will be ordered on this day and this will be the last time parents will be able to purchase them for this year. The purchase price is $40.00 and are made locally. Please keep an eye out for the note with the size chart. You can order via Qkr! or simply go to the office with the note and pay via EFTPOS. We are hoping to receive the shirts by end of Term 1 or beginning of Term 2.

Sally McWilliams – Tuckshop/Uniform Convenor

KindyLinQ – 2021

Musgrave Hill State School is lucky enough to be hosting KindyLinQ in 2021. We are looking forward to working closely with 3 year olds and their families and finding exciting new ways to play and learn together. "

WORD FROM OUR GUIDANCE OFFICER

Feeling Connected at School

Most of us have memories of our time at school; usually some good and some not so good. But the chances are the good memories arose when we felt cared for and valued by our peers and the adults who helped us learn.

School connectedness is an important protective factor for many students. It influences regular school attendance, which is key to improved education and health outcomes.

When kids feel part of their school community and are cared for by people at their school, there are less issues with absenteeism.

This feeling of belonging, often called “connectedness,” can be especially important during the first few weeks of school. Adults and peers, curricular and extracurricular activities, policies and practices all affect the level of connectedness your child feels at school.

What Is School Connectedness?

These are some of the major elements that help kids feel they belong and are cared for at their school:

• Teachers who support and care for individual students.
• Strong friendship groups at school.
• Parents and students caring about current and future academic performance.
• Discipline policies that are fair and efficient.
• Participating in extracurricular activities

Benefits of Connectedness

Some of the benefits of helping students feel a sense of connectedness to their school community are listed below.

• Academic benefits: Connected kids are more likely to attend school regularly, pay attention to their grades and pursue post-secondary education.
• Mental well-being: Connected kids are less likely to have emotional distress or self-esteem issues. They are able to handle stress effectively and are more resilient.

How Parents Can Help Kids Feel More Connected At School

The first step is to recognize the importance of school connectedness in your child’s life and development.

As a parent, you can take these steps to influence your child’s level of connectedness:

• Attend parent-teacher meetings and get to know all of your child’s teachers through regular conversations.
• Be involved with the school and know what is happening at the school.
• Get to know your child’s friends and their families, and encourage positive peer relationships.
• Talk to your children about their grades and effort, and access resources to help you ensure they are reaching their potential and taking ownership of their performance.
• Discuss the school’s discipline policy with teachers and administrators.
• Encourage your child to get involved. Most schools offer a wide variety of extracurricular options, from band to basketball.

Your child’s sense of belonging to school (connectedness) plays a key role, not only in academic success but also in supporting mental well-being.

Talk with your children about how connected they feel at school. Above all, involve yourself in their school lives and be aware of what happens there, both negatively and positively.

Feeling Connected at School research and resources

http://www.healthyalberta.com/HealthyPlaces/660.htm

SCHOOL BANKING

As some of you may be aware, The Victorian Government has banned school banking in 2021. HOWEVER School Banking will continue in all other states of Australia. It is with great pleasure that the Commonwealth Bank School Banking Program will continue at Musgrave Hill State School.

Remember to bring your bank books in every THURSDAY

Every deposit received earns a token. Collect 10 tokens to redeem a prize.
There is no minimum amount to deposit.

If you have any questions or would like to open an account for your child or even another child not attending Musgrave (under the age of 16) then please log onto the link below and click on the link.

We look forward to a wonderful year of banking with you.

Sam and Christine
Musgrave hill School Banking Co-ordinators

GREETINGS FROM OUR CHAPLAIN

Welcome to the Start of a New Year - 2021

Last year may have presented us with some challenges, but as we know and teach our kids we walk through them together.

I am so happy to begin my 8th school year at Musgrave Hill. It is a privilege to serve the school and community. If I can help you or your student or family please let me know. I look forward to a year ahead full of learning and fun and helping each other as we can.

My days at the school this year are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. You can contact me on 5644 5585 or feel free to email me at rjour3@eq.edu.au

Blessings to all.

Rusty (Chaplain)

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 X – Every Monday at Musgrave Hill State School

Broadwater Netball Club

Labrador Hockey Club

Winter Sport – Hockey

Parents, would you like your child to participate in a winter season team activity where having fun, skill development and full participation for all are promoted?

LABRADOR Tigerstix HOCKEY CLUB Junior Development Program is designed for children

From 5 to 10 years old with a focus on skills, safety and fun.

Conducted conveniently on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 10 am for 5 to 8 year olds, 10 am to 11.30 am for 9 and 10 year olds at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Musgrave Ave, Labrador.

Our season runs from March 20 through to August 28 and all playing equipment is supplied for the Saturday program.

The program is great value at $130 for the full season (19 weeks of hockey!) – making thecost less than $7.00 per week!

Kids are welcome to come and try before deciding to commit to the season.
For more information visit at the link below or email Clare on juniordev@labradorhockey.org.au

UPCOMING EVENTS