MacGregor State School eNewsletter

From the Principal

National Education Summit— 26th May 2025

This week I had the privilege of representing QASSP at the National Education Summit at Parliament House, Canberra hosted by the Australian primary Principal’s Association (APPA).

This was a consultancy event aimed at formulating advocacy strategy and focus for our National Association to lobby for improvements in the Primary Education Sector and involved a range of stakeholders both from education and non-education background and government and independent sectors.

Speakers included former Prime Minister, Hon Julia Gillard AC, Prof Frank Oberklaid AM, Dyonne Anderson—CEO of the ‘Stronger Smarter’ Institute and NOTSIPA President, Stephen Gniel—CEO ACARA, Gavin McCormack—upschool CEO (Google him—INSPIRING!!) AND Hon Jason Clare MP—Federal Minister for Education (pictured with myself, Pat Murphy QASSP President and Angelique Kropp Principal of Pumicestone SS and fellow QASSP Board Member).

Throughout the day the speakers were charged with issuing provocations for discussion in the room to collect ideas on what is currently being done in Primary Education and what can be done to improve outcomes for students and families.

Shave for a Cure
Friday 13th June

Before my wife and I head off to Egypt & South Africa on LSL in Week 10, I’m going to need a haircut! My hair is getting long, shaggy and driving me crazy!!

So far I've managed to raise $4209 with a revised target of $5000 which I hope to exceed. Huge thanks to staff, friends, community members and even one student for the kind donations!

I’ll be doing the deed in front of the whole school on Friday 13th June. If you have not already done so and would like to contribute a tax-deductable donation to save me from the dreaded mullet haircut please visit my page. The canteen will also be taking coin/cash donations on the day and selling cupcakes to raise additional funds (many thanks Jacqui and Kellie!)

https://www.worldsgreatestshave.com/fundraisers/leegerchow/2025

Prep to Year Two

Welcome to Week 6!

Thank you to Prep C and Prep D for putting together a wonderful display of their learning in the Tuckshop area. Please take the time to stop by to celebrate their work.

Congratulations to all the learners who received awards at the assembly this week. We are very proud of you!

This term, our Prep learners will be going on their first excursion to Trevena Glen Farm:

Prep A, B, G and H – Friday, 6 June 2025
Prep C, D, E and F – Tuesday, 17 June 2025

It is a wonderful day, full of exciting learning about farm animals, their needs and how to care for them. All families are required to complete an online consent form and pay for the excursion by the due dates. If you require support with the process or experience financial difficulties, please contact the office for assistance. We would love all children to participate in this excursion.

On Thursday, 22 May, we celebrated Under 8s Week with a fantastic morning of activities. The event was a great success, filled with excitement and joy as children eagerly participated in various fun activities. Laughter and enthusiasm filled the air, with many parents and family members coming out to support their little ones, creating a warm and vibrant community atmosphere. Our staff worked collaboratively to ensure that every child felt included and had a wonderful time. We are very grateful for the support from our State Emergency Services, MOSHC educators, and Queensland University of Technology (a special thank you goes to one of our parents, Paul Wu, for reaching out and running a number of activities) making this event memorable for everyone involved. It was a great opportunity to celebrate the spirit of youth, learning and community among our learners, their families and our staff, all while encouraging scientific thinking through play.

On Tuesday, 20 May, we held our first 2026 Prep Information Session and School Tour. Over 60 families attended the session in preparation for transition in 2026. This is a reminder to the families residing in the catchment area to submit an enrolment pack for children eligible to enrol in Prep in 2026 as soon as possible.

Year Two Deputy Principal

In my first year as Year 2 Deputy Principal, I was so impressed by the 2025 Under 8’s Day! I would like to acknowledge the planning, preparation and overall organisation of the day led by Mrs Diana Ghusn, our Prep/ Year 1 Deputy Principal. It was wonderful to see our young learners in their natural habitat – roaming, learning, experimenting, engineering, co-operating and most of all, playing.

I had as much fun as the children facilitating the Cubby House making opportunity in our Junior Adventure Playground for Under 8’s. A very special thank you to the donations of sheets – as you can see, they were very well utilised!

Congratulations to our Students of the Week – Week 6 Assembly!

Well done to Year 2 students who have been noticed for their learning, their support of their peers and their growing confidence as learners at MacGregor State School. We are very proud of you!

Can you help us help your children?

Across all year levels, we consistently remind students that, should they be experiencing a challenge during play time, that they are to find an adult on duty wearing a yellow vest. These vests make our staff highly visible and easy to identify for all children from Prep to Year 6. We use the explicit language of, ‘Look for an adult in a yellow vest’ when reminding students. This can be in class or during assemblies.

You can help us by talking to your child/ children on a regular basis about what to do if they help. It is very difficult for us to assist children if they take their worries home with them so please encourage them to seek help during playtime if needed. Our staff are carefully placed for supervision during playtime and will be wearing they yellow vest for visibility purposes.

Staff Update – Year 2

Thank you to Mrs Weldon and welcome Ms YIP!
On behalf of the Year 2 team thank you and farewell to Mrs Weldon. 2F have had a very busy semester with Mrs Weldon and she will be missed!

We welcome Ms Yip to the Year 2 team who is working closely with Mrs Weldon and myself to ensure a seamless transition for the remainder of the year.

Year Three to Six

Special School Events

Tuesday 03 June – Regional Choral Fanfare
Friday 06 June – Last week of Inter/Intra Sport

NO Trading or selling items at school

It has come to our attention a large number of students are bringing items to school and selling or trading them. Selling items or trading is not permitted on our school site and should not happen even with full parent knowledge and understanding. Students who are found to be continuing with selling or trading will have consequences for their actions.

We are seeing an increase in the number of students bringing phones and wearing smart watched to school.

It is a legislated non-negotiable requirement, that wearable devices (‘Smart Watches’) must be disabled during school hours and must not be used to make or receive calls, texts, take photographs or make recordings.

Mobile phones should be handed in at the office before school.

Parents will be contacted if incidents contravening this policy occur.

Last week, 3F have been young scientists, investigating how shadows change throughout the day. Did you know that your shadow is longer in the morning and late afternoon than it is at midday? It’s all to do with the angle of the sun. It is all because our Earth is rotating! We explored this fascinating idea by heading outside to measure our shadows at different times of the day. Then, we brought our discoveries into the classroom and created some amazing shadow art inspired by what we observed. It’s been a bright and brilliant learning experience!

3F have been diving into the world of information reports! We’ve been learning how to identify key features such as headings and topic sentences. To put our skills to the test, we went on a fun scavenger hunt outside, searching for hidden paragraphs. After reading each one, we worked together to decide on the most suitable heading. It was a great way to combine movement, teamwork, and learning – and we’re becoming experts at organising information clearly!

5CD have been investigating different space missions as part of their Science unit. The explored Heera and Roo-va and discovered that space missions are not just organised by NASA but other countries as well.

5G have been working along with Miss Bowser and Mrs V on unpacking the teaching of spelling and word study. They have been working on prefixes and suffixes and how they are used to make words – real and nonsense words with word matrixes.

6A and 6B have been heading outdoors to get active and enjoy some fresh air. We've been working hard on our Dance and Smart Moves routines, building strength, coordination, and confidence along the way!

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK 2025 AT MACGREGOR STATE SCHOOL

This week we recognised National Reconciliation Week at MacGregor State School. National Sorry Day is held annually on 26 May to remember and acknowledge the Stolen Generations – the Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their families, communities, Country, language and culture under previous government policies. It is a day to reflect on the continuing grief and trauma inflicted on stolen children and their families, the strength and resilience of survivors, and the outstanding needs of ageing survivors today. Classes took time this week to speak about the significance of this week and engage in a meaningful activity.

Strategies for Supporting Self-Regulation – stress and anxiety- Part 2

Sports Updates

On Wednesday 21^st May the students from AFL excellence entered their first event of the year. The Bachar Houli Cup is an event run by AFLQ to help promote multiculturalism is sport, in particular AFL.

During the day our teams did an amazing job and played some great AFL football. Particularly impressive when it was a slightly different format to what we had trained for and got advised about late.

Well done to our teams.

Congratulations to Miss Sankey who over the weekend finished 2^nd in QLD while coaching the U15 Girls Met East team.

Performing Arts

Classroom Music

Year 1 students have been having fun learning about high and low notes and writing them on a 1 line staff. They have also loved learning lots of songs, games and activities like this one with some colourful scarfs!

Year 5 students have been enjoying learning about ‘call and response’ songs in Music and have started to compose their own music for Xylophone!

Finance

Mac Shack News

Uniform Shop

Student Achievements

We are excited to share with you that, on Saturday 17th May 2025, exactly one year after the start of his vocal training, Alec participated in his first ever vocal solo competition - the 54th Wynnum Manly Eisteddfod 2025 Music Program. His achievements are as follows:
**Highest Scoring Performance - Musical Theatre - Junior Vocal Solo 7-10 Years**: Despite being one of the youngest among 31 contestants aged 7 to 10 years old, Alec scored the highest 92 marks and was awarded the Wynnum Manly Eisteddfod Award & Trophy with a $25 cash award.
**1st place at the 7-8 Year Musical Theatre Vocal Solo**: Alec scored 92 marks and came 1st among 14 contestants, which was later found the highest among all 31 contestants in the Musical Theatre Junior section.
**1st place at the 7-8 Year Folk Song Vocal Solo**: Alec scored 92 marks again and came 1st again among 6 contestants.
**2nd place at the Examination Level Grade 3 Vocal Solo**: In this section, Alec competed against two other singers who are both over 10 years old. In general, Examination Grade 3 are suitable for students who begin their vocal training at around 10 years old and have been learning for at least 1 year. During the competition, Alec impressed the judges with his sound and solid vocal skills at this young age and received 90 marks with a 2nd place ranking.

Congratulations! Shelley recently participated in the Wynnum Manly Eisteddfod in the Dance Solo Classic Ballet (7 Years & Under) category and was awarded 3rd Place. This was her first solo competition, and we are incredibly proud of her dedication and achievement. Please find the attached photo.

MacGregor State School Newsletter 2025 - Edition 7