The Mt Murchie Mail. News from the Principal s Desk. Your connection to Mount Murchison State School where improvement is our language

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1 The Mt Murchie Mail Your connection to Mount Murchison State School where improvement is our language W E E K 1, T E R M 4 F R I D A Y, 2 1 O C T O B E R News from the Principal s Desk To report suspicious incidents around the school grounds please call: School Watch Mt Murchie Shining Stars Week 2 Tama Mythius Week 3 Braxton Joshua Dear School Community We are already approaching the mid-term point for Term 4. Times flies when you re having fun. I would like to thank everyone for their patience with the unexpected delays with the server upgrade. Fortunately we are all systems go once again. Absences and Medications at School There have been some changes in Education Queensland Policy and Procedure with regards to absences and medications. Please carefully read the article I have written on page 3 of this newsletter to ensure that you understand the important steps that need to happen with your child is sick or absent. Parent Teacher Interviews Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have had to move the interviews to week 6. Notes have been sent home today with the Homework folders. They will now been held from 3:00 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday 8th November. We are hoping that these times will make it easier for all families to come and discuss the learning and well-being of our students. The students have commenced their swimming program. Many thanks to families for being organised as it makes our job much easier and the students are better able to engage in their swimming. Whilst not mandatory, students get much more out of their lesson if they are wearing goggles. Please ensure that ALL items that the students have that day are labelled we already have two pairs of unnamed goggles in the office. There was some confusion at pick up time last week regarding what students need to be wearing when they leave. From next Wednesday students will be allowed to leave the pool in their togs and towel provided they are with their guardian. They will need to have shoes on their feet when they leave. This is a Workplace Health and Safety issue. School Opinion Survey The 2016 School Opinion Survey has now been received. The data is extremely encouraging. This data is critical in ensuring that our future strategic planning is relevant to the needs of all sectors of our school community. I will be unpacking this data at the upcoming P&C meeting. Cricket Skills Clinic We were invited to participate in a cricket skills clinic today. All the students worked with Cricket Australia representative Joe Marsh for a 1 hour skills and drills session. The session was excellent and the students made the most of the great opportunity. End of Term 3 Attendance Data Attendance is vital for students to be able to reach their potential at school. Our last data check (at end of Term 3) shows the following attendance trends. 63% of our students have attended school at % 27% of our students have attended school at 90-95% 10% of our students have attended school less than 95% Attendance updates for your child were sent home with the Homework last week. Please take some time to see where your child is sitting with their attendance. Disco Time As part of our Civics studies in the Years 3-6 classroom, we will be having a school Disco on Thursday 8th December. The students have applied their knowledge of democratic processes to plan the Disco. The Disco will be held in conjunction with the Biloela PCYC. More details will be released as the event gets closer. Finally, with the weather heating up, it is really important that students have a waterbottle at school. They need to be sipping water throughout the day to ensure that they stay hydrated in the hot weather. That s it for now, Linda

2 News from the Years P-2 Classroom So much has happened since our last newsletter I m not sure where to start! We have started assessment for Maths, English and Science and we are smashing it out! I have been very impressed with our students your kids and the work that they put in every day. It s rare that Mrs Buckton and I hear someone complain about having to do some work (and actually mean it). Having said that, the year is coming to a close, and as always, a few inappropriate behaviours begin to show. This last week we have had a few discussions about hand gestures and words that are not for use at school. We will not tolerate bad behaviour either in the classroom or in the playground and there will be consequences for inappropriate behaviour and language. We had a fantastic time at swimming this week! Please remember to name ALL of your child s belongings - we have a few things in the office already. Students also need to bring a water bottle to class as the weather heats up. We thoroughly recommend a water bottle with a pop-top lid as screw top lids are difficult for little fingers to get on properly and tend to leave big wet spots on the carpet. Finally, the Prep/1/2 class have had long and in-depth discussions about what has happened at the highschool over last weekend and we will be baking a few items for the bake sale next week. Proceeds from the bake sale will go to the teachers who have lost years of resources that will not be replaced under the school s funding. If you d like to help out, baking starts next Thursday. If you can t help out baking but you d like to donate, we are happy for you to do that too! Baked items can be brought to the school office next Friday. Please make sure that items are labelled with an ingredients list (labels are available at the office) Focus for school-wide improvement of Reading News from the Years 3-6 Classroom We are quickly approaching mid-term and things are very busy in our classroom. This week we are finalising a writing piece of assessment where the students are writing to a child their own age 50 years into the future. Their aim is describe what a typical day is like in The students have been outstanding in their focus and effort whilst engaging in this task. They have worked independently and have done a great job at giving peer feedback. We are focused on mastering time, money and fractions in mathematics. If possible, it would be great if students can have the opportunity to handle real money at the shops. We are all working to extend our understanding of equivalent fractions, fractions of a quantity and common, improper and mixed fractions. We are finalising our Civics assessment for the year this week. The students have really engaged in our Civics learning tasks and have really put in a big effort on their assessments tasks. During Week 5 we will be introducing our final Science unit for 2016 which is focused on Earth and Space.

3 My Child Is Sick or Not Attending School What Do I Need to Do?????? Whilst attending school is a vital key to student learning improvement and success, every child will be sick from time to time. It is really important that we all understand what needs to happen when children are sick or away from school. My child will not be attending school..what do I need to do? No need to worry but it is essential to contact the school on the day of their absence. Our school policy for student absence reflects Education Queensland policy. We do not make up these rules at school they are departmental policy. According to policy the acceptable reasons for student absence are: School Activities i.e. school choir performance Holiday the parent has informed the school that the students/family is taking a holiday. Holidays during the term are discouraged. If the absence is more that 10 days an exemption is required Illness The parent has informed the school that the student is ill on the day of their absence Natural Disaster student is unable to attend school due to an extreme weather event Other the Principal determines that the excuse provided by the parent is reasonable. Principals must use departmental guidelines to determine reasonable excuses and document these reasons. Examples include medical / dental appointments, funerals Sport the student is representing their school, district, region, state or nation at a sporting event Parents/ guardians are now required to inform schools of the reason for a student absence ON THE DAY OF THAT ABSENCE. At Mount Murchison, this can be done by ringing the school, leaving a message on the answering machine, sending a note with a sibling or sending an . It is not acceptable to send a verbal message with a sibling or friend. My child is sick and needs to have medication at school..what do I need to do? The policy surrounding medications has changed this year. It is important to remember that the policy is designed to make sure that all students remain safe. Students can have allergies to the most common medications and we need to ensure that they cannot access any medication at school. From 2016, we are only allowed to administer medications that have a DOCTOR S PERSCRIPTION label on the medications. This includes all forms of medicines, including creams. Previously, we have been able to administer some medications with a chemist label, however this is not longer the case, including Nurofen and Panadol. All students are put at risk if medications are left in student bags. We cannot administer medications unless the appropriate medication form has been filled out. For your child to be administered medication a school, you need to: Arrive at school no later than 8:30 to complete the medication forms and give the medication to staff Ensure that you collect the medication at the end of the day We are really happy to administer medication but we must stay within departmental policy when doing so. We are unable to make exceptions.

4 Support our Community When: Saturday 5 November Where: Outside Biloela Discount Chemist Please bring plated baked items please bring the plated items to the office on Friday 4 November. All items will require an ingredients label which will be available from the office. Proceeds will be donated to staff at Biloela SHS to assist in replacing resources.

5 ENROL NOW FOR 2017 Become a part of the Mt Murchison Family in 2017 Mt Murchison State School is currently taking enrolments for 2017 for all year levels, Prep to Year 6. Mt Murchison State School is a close knit community focused on individual learning improvement. Mt Murchison State School Offers: Individual Learning Improvement Plans High ICT ratios with PCs, Laptops and ipads Open and frequent communication tracking individual student learning Experienced and dedicated staff Clear and high behaviour expectations For more information or an enrolment package / interview, please contact the school office on or admin@mtmurchiss.eq.edu.au.

6 Mt Murchison State School Termly Overview of Events Term 1 Meet and greet for each classroom Preparation for Show Display Easter Activities (Week 9) NAPLAN Preparations Eisteddfod Planning and nominations Art Mix planning and completion of tasks Crazy Hair Day (Leukaemia foundation week 9) Cross Country Fundraiser PCYC Day ( Week 9) Term 2 Parent teacher interviews (Weeks 1/2 ) NAPLAN Preparations Academic reporting Open classroom ( week 11) Show Display (Week 5) Mothers Day Activity (Week 4) NAPLAN Eisteddfod : Rehearsal Athletics Carnivals PCYC Day (Tuesday Week 11) ANZAC Day ( week 3) CQ Regional Principals Conference School Opinion Survey Kindy Open Morning ( Tues Week 2) Year 4-6 Canberra Camp Fathers Day Activity (Week 8) Book Week (Wed week 8) World Teacher Aide Day Update Booklists for 2016 PCYC Day (Friday Week 10) Parent teacher interviews (week 6) Academic reporting Yr 6 Graduation Week 8 22nd November (weeks 4-9) Day for Daniel (Friday week 4) Remembrance Day (Week 6) World Teachers Day Melbourne Cup Day Finance Audit (Week 8) Open classroom (Week 9 ) Awards evening (Week 9) PCYC Day (Week 10) End of year luncheon (Week 10)

7 Mount Murchison State School Term Week 1 3rd October 4th October 5th October 6th October 7th October Goal Setting Labour Day Week 2 10th October 11th October 12th October 13th October 14th October Visit: Kay Kirkman Assistant Regional Director ANZAC Day Week 3 17th October Caption describing Student Free Day picture or graphic. 18th October 19th October PD Plan Review 20th October 21st October Week 4 24th October 25th October 26th October 27th October 28th October To catch the reader's attention, place an interesting sentence or quote from the story Teachers Day here. Day for Daniel Week 5 31st October 1st November 2nd November 3rd November 4th November Reading Data Collection; Attendance data collection; Melbourne Cup 11:30 a.m. Count Us In Week 6 7th November 8th November 9th November 10th November 11th November Parent Teacher Interview Remembrance Day ; FLOW and Goovigen SS visit P&C Meeting 3p.m. Week 7 14th November 15th November 16th November 17th November 18th November Caption Week describing 8 Behaviour Level picture Applications; or CH Maths Benchmark graphic. ; 3 min test; 21st November 22nd November Year 6 Graduation (Jambin) 23rd November Show Holiday 24th November Finance audit 25th November Finance audit Week 9 28th November 29th November 30th November 1st December 2nd December Reading Data Collection; Attendance data collection; CQ Small schools science; Reading levels; Sight word data; High School Transition Queens Birthday H High School Transition Awards Evening & Open Classroom Week 10 5th December 6th December 7th December 8th December 9th December PCYC Day End of Year Luncheon Little Aussie Encounters School Disco