MacGregor State School Newsletter 2023 Edition 5

Student Free Day Friday

There is no school this Friday 1^st September as it is a Student Free/Staff Professional Development Day.  We hope the children enjoy their long weekend!

Drop off and pick up times

We are experiencing a number of children being collected from school very late in the afternoon – sometimes as late as between 4.30pm-5.00pm with the same ‘repeat offender’ parents.  School staff members have their own family commitments and appointments after this time and we are unable to guarantee supervision late into the afternoon.  Please arrange for your child to attend MOSHC if you find yourself unable to collect your children at a reasonable time. Please ensure that students are collected from extra-curricular activities as soon as possible after the activity has ended.

A reminder that the office closes officially at 3.30pm and students should be collected from school preferably before 3.30pm.  Please let the office know if you are running late.

Similarly students must not be dropped at school before 8am as there is no supervision at this time. Student supervision in Harmony Place and the tuckshop covered area commences at 8.15am.    

Yours in equity & excellence,

Mr. Lee Gerchow

Learning in Prep

Our Prep learners have been listening to, viewing and interpreting a range of rhyming stories this term. They learned how to recognise and generate rhyming words, alliteration patterns and express opinions about a familiar rhyming story.

Rhyme Crime Thief visited Prep H and took some items from the classroom! He replaced them with things that rhymed with the stolen objects. Prep H did a wonderful job applying their detective rhyming skills to figure out what was missing from the classroom!

Learning in Year 1

The highlight for our Year 1 learners was the trip to Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium and the Botanical Gardens last week. During this term in Science, Year 1s were learning about the observable features of a variety of landscapes and skies. They considered changes in the sky and landscape, and the impact of these changes on themselves and other living things. During the excursion, the students were able to apply their knowledge and understanding from the Science lessons. Hands-on experiences like these can really reinforce what students have learned at school and help them make connections to the real world. I am confident that our learners had a lot of fun while also deepening their understanding of the subject area. What a fantastic experience! Thank you to all the parent volunteers who supported us during this wonderful event.

News from Year 4

4E have been exploring different artists and experimenting with different styles.  They have just completed their Organic Village pictures. 

News from Year 5

Year 5 participated in their Stop Motion animation Incursion on Monday and Tuesday of Week 7.  The students worked in small groups to create their own animation by drawing pictures on whiteboards and also using little figurines.  This incursion has provided the students with an deeper understanding for their own animation for the Media Arts unit.

Year 5 Camp Update

Thank you to the positive response from parents with the new online consent process,  we only had 11 no replies from 179 families which is amazing.  Invoices have now been issued to all families who gave consent for camp and payment deadline is Tuesday 12^th September. 

Medical and Dietary will be coming out soon – please remember Dietary is for specific dietary requirements your child needs so the camp can cater for – for example Vegetarian and what restrictions/ gluten free etc.  If your child is a fussy eater please connect with me separately so I can ensure we are aware so we can talk through the food options at meal times to find something they like. 

During Book Week students were introduced to some of the shortlisted books for this year. On Tuesday 27th August, we saw students and staff members in some amazing costumes, depicting book characters. It was wonderful to see our community getting involved and the lovely parades that occurred throughout the school. Teachers are collating all their happy snaps, and the best dressed classes will be announced soon.

During the week, students were invited to participate in activities in the library. These related to the theme of Read, Grow and Inspire and some the books that were shortlisted this year. A huge thank you to Ms Pelenyi and Mrs Arthur for organising these activities. 

We have been running three competitions across the week:

1. Have someone take your photo reading in an unusual place. Print your photo or email it to your classroom teacher.
2. A-Z Book Week Poster. The illustrator has included an item for every letter of the alphabet in his poster. See how many you can find. Entry forms available in the Library.
3. Create a poster of your favourite book. Include a sentence on the back to explain why it is your favourite.

Make sure you include your name and class on all entries. With all the excitement around these, we have decided to extend the closing date for all competitions to Monday 4^th September.

What are ‘The Zones of Regulation’?

Currently at Macgregor State School many classrooms utilise ‘The Zones of Regulation’ visuals to assist students to identify their emotions and develop emotional awareness. 

This involves identifying the zone they are in, either BLUE, GREEN, YELLOW or RED.  Then working out which emotion they are feeling under that zone.  Students are taught that there is no one ‘good’ zone.  All zones are normal emotions that all people feel and sometimes you may be in more than one zone at a time.  Development of self-awareness is a critical skill in encouraging internal regulation.  Have a conversation with your child today and see how perceptive they are about what zone they are in, what emotion they are feeling and how their body cues change during different emotions and zones.

Below is a Zones Poster developed by Leah M. Kuypers, MA Ed. OTR/L

All Abilities AFL Auskick Team Program

Macgregor State School is offering placements for students with a disability to register for an 'All Abilities AFL Auskick Team Program'.

The program will run from Monday 4^th September for three weeks at Lunch time 1:10pm - 1:50pm.

It is an amazing opportunity for students to participate and see if they may have a passion for AFL and working as part of team in a safe and inclusive environment.

There is no cost involved.  Please register your student by scanning the QR Code on the flyer below.

What a massive fortnight we have had for sport at MacGregor.

Some highlights below.

• Inter and Intra sport has completed two weeks. We have over 300 students from 4-6 taking part in Inter School Sport against other schools from with in the district. The remaining students are taking part in the intra sport program.
  
  
• 11 students attended the Met East trials for track and field on Thursday 24^th and Friday 25^th August. Amazing efforts by all students involved.
• Special shout out to Zoe and Boaz who have been selected in the Met East team to compete at the State Championships
• Zoe 1^st place in Discus and Multi Event
• Boaz 2^nd place in Multi Event.
• Brandon represented QLD at the National Basketball Exchange in Perth and his team has finished 3^rd. What an amazing experience for Brandon to be part off.
  
  
• Louis is currently representing QLD in Swimming at the National Exchange in Sydney. Currently we haven’t heard how he is going but will provide an update as soon as we hear.
  
  
• Congratulations to Jontae who has competed at the State Softball Championships over the weekend.

Performing Arts Success: 

Congratulations to: 

• Shen K for receiving an A in his diploma level CMus Violin exam! 
• Gavin Z for receiving Honours for Gr 8 Drumkit 
• Tim X for receiving Honours in Gr 6 Trombone 
• Oliver Bi for receiving a Credit in Gr 5 Drumkit  
• Frank X for receiving Honours for Gr 5 Drumkit  
• Felix F for receiving Credit for Gr 5 Drumkit and completing Gr 3 Percussion   
• Ankush I for receiving a Credit in Gr 4 Trumpet 
• Juwon for receiving Honours for Gr 4 Horn 
• Edwin Y for receiving Honours for Gr 4 Tenor Sax 
• Ethan S for receiving a Credit for Gr 4 Clarinet  
• Austni C for receiving a Credit for Gr 4 Viiolin 
• Nathan L for receiving Credit for Gr 3 Tuba 
• Joseph Z for receiving a Credit in Gr 3 Horn  
• Monique B for receiving an A in Gr 1 Violin and an Honours Plus in her Tap exam.  
• Akshar R for receiving an A in Gr 2 Music Theory 
• Edwin for receiving Honours for Gr 1 Theory 

Being Brave at School

Discussing how we can face challenges and overcome problems by being brave at school.

We are excited to introduce the latest enhancement to our QParents platform - the Consent Management module. This update aims to simplify the process of granting permissions for various school activities such as camps, incursions, and excursions.

**Why does this matter to you?**

Going forward, managing permissions for your child's participation in activities will be seamlessly integrated into the QParent App. You can conveniently provide consent online.

**How does it work?**

Once you log into the QParent App, simply follow these steps:

1. Click on the menu button.
2. Select "Consent Requests" from the drop-down menu.
3. This will lead you to the Consent Form that needs to be completed.

**What's next?**

Once you've filled out the Consent Form, you will receive an Invoice. This invoice covers the cost of your child's participation in the chosen activity. Please ensure that the invoice is paid by the indicated due date to secure your child's spot.

**Important Note on Access:**

Both parents will have access to the Consent Management module. When one parent completes the consent process, the information will be visible within the app. However, only one parent will receive the emailed invoice and have access to it. The parent designated as the 100% fee owner will received this.

**Have questions or need assistance?**

Should you require any further information or have queries about this new module, feel free to email myself at mefth3@eq.edu.au.

For invitation and registration assistance with QParents, please contact Marcia Crichton at mcric14@eq.edu.au.

We appreciate your support in adopting this new process as we aim to streamline and enhance the way we manage permissions for our school activities.

FINANCE UPDATE

If you would like to apply the credit to a current/future Invoice please contact the Finance office via email finance@macgregorss.eq.edu.au.

NO LATE PAYMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR EXCURSIONS OR INCURSIONS.

Volunteers Needed

The Mac Snack Shack needs your help to keep our tuckshop running smoothly and efficiently.  We are looking for volunteers who can spare a few hours a week to assist in the tuckshop.  No experience necessary, just a friendly smile and a willingness to learn.  Please follow this link to sign up – https://msspc.org.au/tuck-shop/

Online Ordering

Flexischools continues to be the fastest and easiest way to place orders. You can sign up online at https://flexischools.com.au/parents or download the Flexischools app. Orders must be placed before 8.30am for same day orders. Alternatively, you can order up to a month in advance.

Winter Menu

The winter menu runs for term 2 and term 3. The new winter daily specials have been very popular amongst the students. Follow this link and take a look at the menu - https://msspc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Winter-2023-3.pdf

UNIFORM SHOP NEWS

Opening Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8:00 am to 9:00 am

ONLINE ORDERING

Online ordering using My Student Account is available at the Uniform Shop.

Orders for uniform and stationery requirements can be placed and delivered to your child's classroom.

https://macgregorss.mystudentaccount.com

Contact us: uniformshop@msspc.org.au

P&C website: https://msspc.org.au/