MacGregor State School Newsletter 2025 - Edition 4

In commemoration of ANZAC Day, MacGregor State School will be participating in the Sunnybank RSL ANZAC Day Parade on Friday, 25th April. All students are welcome to attend in their formal uniform.

Parents can drop their child/ren off to staff at 7:30am at the allocated meeting point on the Sunnybank State High School oval (Boorman St entrance). A marshal will be present, and signage will direct students where to stand. Parents are welcome to watch the parade from the footpaths along the route.

The march will begin at 8:00am, following Boorman St, Lister St, and Gager St, finishing at the Sunnybank RSL Sub-Branch entrance on Gager St. The community service will commence at approximately 8:30am.

The service will begin at approximately 8:30am. The service is expected to conclude around 10:00am, and students are invited to join for a morning tea afterward.

Parents are asked to collect their child after the march/ service at the Sunnybank High School oval (pick-up point outlined on the map attached).

Tub Time

Some of you may have heard from your children that we have introduced a new learning routine in our classrooms, called Tub Time (J. Seamer, Reading Success in the Early Primary Years)

The routine involves setting up a number of tubs, baskets, trays or boxes with activities and then allowing the children to have full agency over which they choose to engage with. At the start of the year, the tubs contain non-academic tasks (such as puzzles, Lego, fine motor activities, books, puppets, art and craft, playdough, etc.) that children will be able to engage with on their own. Once we master this routine, and as the children grow in their skills, we will begin to introduce activities that include academic tasks during Tub Time.

The purpose of Tub Time is to:

1. Build learning stamina to engage children in learning for longer periods of time and sustain focus.
2. Provide some downtime and a brain break.
3. Teach self-regulation skills – how can you work collaboratively if you cannot manage yourself?
4. Support the development of choice-making and provide an opportunity for agency in the day.
5. Provide a sensory, hands-on activity.
6. Introduce the expected behaviours for small group work and general classroom engagement.
7. Enable teachers to work with small groups or individual students while the rest of the class works in a quiet, calm and engaging environment.

There are also very explicit and consistent rules around this routine:

1. You may only choose from the available activities.
2. Keep your eyes on your own activity.
3. Work on your own in your own space.
4. You may change your activity as many times as you like in a given time; however, you must return your activity neatly, quietly and quickly.
5. Tub Time is a silent activity.

The response from the children was very positive. We are amazed at how quickly they have learned the routine and how well they are using it in the classrooms.

Below are some photos from our Tub Time last week.

Partner Reading in Prep E

In early years, reading comprehension is much more heavily influenced by decoding ability than it is by language comprehension. Our Prep children are learning to ‘lift the words from the page’ (the process of translating printed words into speech by associating letters with sounds and blending them together to identify the word) by using the decodable texts. Decodable texts are an important part of the early years Literacy Block because they provide an opportunity for students to practise reading with graphemes and high frequency words they have learned. Mrs Wiggins has kindly shared some of the photos of her children participating in Partner Reading (another learning routine), pairing learners who are at the same point in their reading development during the Literacy Block, using decodable texts.

Congratulations to all the learners who have received awards at our last assembly. We are very proud of you!

The Gift of the Read Aloud

If you are wondering how you can support your child at home, one of the most simple yet important ways to spend time with your child is to simply….read to them.

This graphic from the highly regarded Professor Pamela Snow shares the importance of parents reading with and to their children.  How might you find time these holidays to read with and to your child?

Term 2 Religious Instruction

In Term 2 we will be offering Religious Instruction to Years 1, 2 and 3 for Christianity and Years 1 to Year 5 for Hindu. For Religious Instruction to be viable, Queensland State Schools rely on volunteers and each year we are fortunate to be supported by a small team of dedicated volunteers for the two denominations we offer.

Our volunteers are required to attend a Mandatory Training session before they begin in addition to an induction each year. They are also easily identifiable wearing a personalised lanyard whilst they are at MacGregor State School.

What do parents need to do?
Every child enrolled at MacGregor State School has a parent or carer that as completed an Enrolment Form. Parents are asked to select whether they would like their child to participate in Religious Instruction and from these responses, we create a list of students who have permission to attend.

How long is a Religious Instruction lesson?

Each lesson is for 30 minutes once per week in Term 2, Term 3 and partially into Term 4.

What if I want to add my child or remove my child from Religious Instruction?
If parents wish add their child to a Religious Instruction session, they are required to do so in writing as this is considered an amendment to the enrolment form. Once we receive your written communication, we are required to update your child’s enrolment form to reflect the correct information.

For any adjustments or changes to Religious Instruction, please email: office@macgregorss.eq.edu.au 

Is Religious Instruction free?
Parents will be invoiced approximately $5.00 to cover the cost of a learning booklet that will be used during the Religious Instruction lesson for Christianity. There are no other costs.

If my child is not attending Religious Instruction, what do they do?
As all lessons are held in classrooms, we create a timetable for class teachers that reflect Religious Instruction classes and non-Religious Instruction classes. Children not attending Religious Instruction will be guided by the class teacher that is supervising them. No new learning content will be introduced during this time.

We will send out further communication early next term.

If you have any further questions, please direct them to office@macgregorss.eq.edu.au 

4D Portraits

Portraits of 4D students that are inspired by Romero Britto typically feature bold, vibrant colours and playful patterns. Students have also included symbols that represent their identities (HASS).

4E Science

Year 4 scientists have been investigating properties of materials and their uses: In this experiment, they were testing how absorbent or water-resistant various materials were, while practising their observation and explanation skills.

4F Maths

In the vibrant classroom of 4F, students eagerly explored symmetry using grid boards. They carefully created shapes and lines of reflection, discovering how one side mirrored the other. As patterns emerged, excitement grew, and students proudly shared their symmetrical designs. Through hands-on learning and collaboration, they gained a deeper understanding of symmetry.

Strategy Maths games in 5C

Students in 5CD have been playing maths strategy games. Wonderful to see conversations around choices being made.  The games the students were playing were Sz’kwa which originated in Taiwan, Dotty Six and Totality.

Henny Penny Visits

Whilst their class mates were on Music Camp, students in 5AB had some time with the chickens from the Henny Penny program in Prep. 

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Chocolate Nests:

Ingredients-

• 200g Milk chocolate chopped
• 20g butter, chopped
• 100g pkt Chang’s Original Fried Noodles
• ½ cup shredded coconut, toasted
• 60 M&M’s Speckled Eggs

Method:

1. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir with a metal spoon for 5 mins or until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Add the fried noodles and coconut and stir to combine.
2. Use 2 dessert spoons to arrange the chocolate mixture into small mounds on the prepared tray. Create a small hollow in the centre of each mound. Place 3 eggs in each hollow. Place in the fridge for 30 mins or until set. Store in an airtight container.

We have implemented QParents for payment and consent for SRS, excursions, incursions, camps and extra-curricular activities.

• A consent will be loaded to Parent QParents account with a specific due date. If you do not have QParents, it is parent responsibility to contact administration to obtain a paper copy and complete/return.
• Parent will be notified of the SRS/excursion/incursion/camp/extra-curricular activity via email.
• On the consent due date, an invoice will be generated to Parent who has completed the consent, this will be sent via email.

Payment amount will also be loaded to QParents. If a consent is not received by due date, children will not be able to participate in the SRS/excursion/incursion/camp/extra-curricular activity and will not be invoiced.

• Payment will be due by a specific date which will be specified again on the invoice.
• If payment is not received by the due date, despite signing a consent, children will not be able to participate in the SRS/excursion/incursion/camp/extra-curricular activity.
• As a courtesy, generic reminders will be emailed to Parent prior to the due date.

If you are experiencing financial difficulty, please do not hesitate to contact the Finance office.

Stock

The Uniform & Stationery Shops have experienced bumper sales over the summer period and as such have currently run out of some stock.  We are working hard to replenish these items; however, they do attract a delay in delivery due to recent factory closures for Christmas and Chinese New Year holidays.

We are currently out of stock of Sports Shorts Sizes 8 & 10.  These are expected to be delivered by 23rd April 2025.

We are also running low on Sports Polos Size 12 & Sports Shorts Size 12.

We thank you for your understanding and co-operation while we work hard to resolve this issue.

Second-hand Uniform

Interschool Sports

2025 Senior Shirts

Volunteers

Introducing the 2025 P&C Executive Committee

At last Tuesday’s P&C meeting, we are excited to announce the 2025 P&C Executive Committee! From left to right, meet the team:

- Terry Lee (Secretary)
- Dr. Jishu Das Gupta (President)
- Angie Chiu (Assistant Treasurer)
- Jon Smith (Vice President)
- Simon Yeh (Treasurer)

All of our elected Executive members were part of the 2024 committee, and we are incredibly grateful that they’re continuing their valuable service for the 2025/26 year. Thank you all for your commitment and dedication to the MacGregor community!

A special thank you goes out to Pial Rahman (2024/25 Vice President) for her service over the past years. Pial has decided not to nominate for this year due to work and family commitments, but we sincerely appreciate all of her contributions to the committee and the community.

We're also thrilled to announce the 2025 P&C Fundraising Subcommittee:

- Chairperson: Liisa Tatters
- Vice Chairperson: Jon Smith
- Secretary: Meimi Ung
- Treasurer: Nathan Barton

And the 2025 P&C MOSHC Subcommittee:

- Chairperson: Jon Smith
- Treasurer: Simon Yeh
- Secretary: Wen Xu

Thank you to everyone who is stepping up to serve in these vital roles. We look forward to working together for another successful year! To keep up to date with all things P&C make sure to follow us on Facebook, and bookmark our website. Our next P&C Fundraising Committee Meeting is Tuesday 29th April 9am in the School Office Meeting Room and the next P&C General Meeting will be Tuesday 20th May 6:30pm in the MOSHC Building - Hope to see you there!