Macedon Primary School Newsletter

14 September 2022

School Values: Respect, Responsibility, Creativity, Integrity, Teamwork

Principal's Report

Dear parents,

Macedon PS Learning Expo – How the world works.

Thank you to everyone who attended the student learning expo last Thursday evening.  I was thrilled with the turn out and the opportunity this gave our students to showcase their work for an authentic audience.  These types of opportunities often drive higher levels of engagement and motivation for our students and this event was no exception.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was so proud of the effort that all our students put into their presentations.  This style of learning provides opportunities for us to empower student to take ownership and have agency over of their learning.

NAPLAN

By now our parents of year three and five students will have received their children’s individual NAPLAN reports for the 2022 NAPLAN held in May.  The NAPLAN results are one measure in a wide range of assessment that we conduct to help us understand how the school is progressing toward its academic goals.  It gives us an opportunity to reflect on what is working well and where we need to make improvements to our teaching and learning program. 

This table shows the percentage of students in the top two bands. This means, those students who are operating above or well above the expectations for their age group.  The similar school column compares us to schools of similar size and demographics.

Year 3

 

Our school % of students in the top two bands

Similar schools % of students in the top two bands

Reading

62

69

Writing

52

57

Numeracy

52

45

 

Year 5

 

Our school % of students in the top two bands

Similar schools % of students in the top two bands

Reading

51

54

Writing

14

29

Numeracy

27

27

 

There are some highlights within these results such as the year three numeracy results and several impressive individual student results.  We also note that we will be paying close attention to the areas where we have not achieved as highly as expected.  We have a wide range of supports and strategies in place maximise learning growth in English and Numeracy.  Recently, with the more stable school environment and a huge reduction in student and staff sickness, we are putting a lot of time into honing our skills in these areas and improving our teaching practice. 

These results, along with a deeper dive into some detailed information from the assessments, will be interpreted by the teaching staff and leadership to support us to set the direction for 2023 and beyond.   

Footy Colours Day - tomorrow

The children are encouraged to come in their favorite team colours tomorrow, if you don't have a particular team, just wear some bright colours. We are asking for a gold coin donation that will go to a Childrens Cancer charity.

Early Dismissal – 2:30pm Friday

This is a reminder that we finish at 2:30pm on Friday afternoon.

I am wishing the students a safe and restful break and look forward to an exciting term four. 

Kind regards and Sampai jumpa (until next time),

 

Matt

New Red Door Menu

COVID update

COVID-19 isolation requirements have changed

Any student or staff member who tests positive to COVID-19 must now isolate for a minimum of 5 days instead of 7. If they are asymptomatic, they may return to school on day 6. If they are symptomatic, they must remain in isolation until day 7. If they have symptoms after 7 days, they are strongly advised to stay home until their symptoms have resolved.

As an additional risk mitigation, the Department of Health strongly recommends that those leaving isolation wear a face mask when away from home, both indoors and outdoors, and when they cannot physically distance. Those leaving isolation on day 6 should wear a mask for 5 days but particularly the first 2 days. Those leaving isolation on day 7 should wear a mask for 4 days but particularly the first 2 days.

Those leaving isolation should consider taking a rapid antigen test before attending school.

Rapid antigen test deliveries

We have decided to discontinue the distribution oof the Rapid antigen tests (RATs) to each student in Term 4. If you require RAT tests, please contact the office, we have spare kits here.

All RAT stock needs to be used by the end Term 4, 2022. This is because RATs need to be stored at under 30 degrees, and stock left in unairconditioned buildings over the summer holidays may not be viable for Term 1, 2023. 

Important Dates

15 September - Footy Colours Day - gold coin donation

16 September - Tabloid Sports Day (wear house colours)

16 September - Last day of term 3 - 2:30pm dismissal

TERM 4:

3 October - First day of term 4

18 October - 21 October - Year 5 & 6 Camp - Howqua

31st October - Curriculum Day (student free day)

1st November - Melbourne Cup holiday (student free day)

2 November - 4 November - Year 3 & 4 Camp - Weekaway Lancefield

5 December - 6 December - Year 1 & 2 Camp - Lady Northcote 

20 December - Last day of the year (1:00pm dismissal)

Footy Colours Day - 15th September

To celebrate the last day of term and the football finals, we are holding a footy colours day on Thursday the 15th of September. Wear your favourite teams colours and bring a gold coin donation. For online donations, we have set up a page:

https://www.footycoloursday.com.au/fundraisers/MacedonPrimarySchool

From the office

Medications at school

If your child requires medication at school you must bring the medication to the office and fill out the 'Medication Authority From'.  Students are not to be taking medication in their classrooms. All medication must be in its original container and bear the original label with the name of the student and information on the dosage time and to be administered.

https://macedonps.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/medication-authority-form-frm-v1.0-may-2008.pdf 

Student mobile phones

A reminder that students need to sign their phones in at the office. This also includes watches that can make phone calls, SMS or access the internet, must be signed in at the office.

If children need to be collected early or are not feeling well, they need to let their teacher know and you can be contacted. Also, if parents have messages to give to their children during school time, please call the office and we will pass this information on. If you would like to familiarise yourself with our mobile phone, you can find it here:

https://macedonps.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Mobile-Phones-Policy.pdf

Spare Clothes

With the wet weather upon us and the school grounds muddy, we are asking student to pack a spare change of clothes. We have a limited supply of spare clothes in the sick bay, however, we would appreciate you to bring in some spare from home. Also,  if your child does borrow some clothes, please returned them to the school.

Xuno

Thank you to those parents that have logged into the Xuno platform and set up their passwords. Macedon Primary is starting the transition to Xuno. Parents can login now and look up student reports for semester 1, 2022. You can also use Xuno to advise of absences, update your details, see the school calendar and your child's attendance.  We will eventually be able to accept payments for excursions and book parent/teacher interviews. To access Xuno please click on the link https://macedonps.xuno.com.au/index.php or there is a tab on the school webpage. 

Late arrivals

If your child is late to school (after 9:00am) can you please sign them in at the office. The teachers mark the rolls at 9:00am and if your child is late to class they will be marked as absent and you will receive an SMS asking about their whereabouts.  The classrooms are open from 8:50am.

Foundation 2023 enrolments

Foundation enrolments for 2023 are now open. If you have a child that is starting school next year of have friends or family interested in enrolling their child at Macedon Primary, please contact the office for an enrolment form or click on the following link: https://macedonps.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2023-Student_Enrolment_Form_Updated_Feb_2018.pdf 

Voluntary Curriculum Contributions

The process for invoicing parents for voluntary curriculum contributions. If you are unsure if you have paid or if you would like to pay, please contact the office.

Working with Children Check

All parent helpers at Macedon Primary must have a valid working with children check. It is free for a volunteer check, please apply online at https://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/individuals/applicants/how-to-apply-1If you have a valid working with check and have yet to provide it to the school, please email a copy or come into the office and we will take a copy.

Julie and Emma

We want you to tell us what you think!

All Macedon PS families have been invited to participate in the 2022 Parent/Caregiver/Guardian Opinion Survey (previously known as the Parent Opinion Survey) this year.  Results will be used to inform and direct our future school planning and improvement and are also used as measures of our success against our school’s strategic plan.

 We ask you to please take the time to complete the survey as your opinions are important to us and will contribute to the future management and organisation of our school.

The survey will be conducted online and should take 20 minutes to complete.

The survey can be completed on any internet enabled device (iPad, Desktop or Laptop, Smartphone) and is compatible with most browsers.

The survey is open until Friday 16th September.

Please be assured that your responses are completely confidential. The survey is conducted anonymously, and it is important to us that you complete the survey as honestly as possible.

 Please follow the instructions below to complete the survey. NOTE: Only one parent/caregiver/guardian from your family is invited to complete the survey.

 

To complete the survey, simply:

1.       Click on the link below, or copy and paste the text into your browser. This link will take you directly to the survey.

https://www.orima.com.au/parent

2.       Select the School and Campus name below.

        Macedon Primary School

3.       Enter the School PIN below.

(the school pin was sent to you in an email on 30th of August, please contact the office if you have not received this email.)

 4.       When complete, please click on the tick button at the end of the survey to submit your answers. Please note that the survey will time out after 60 minutes of inactivity.

Thank you for taking the time to participate. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Questions?

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any general queries about the survey. For specific technical or participation-related queries, you may also contact the Department or the supplier administering the survey, ORIMA Research.

¨       Should you have any technical queries regarding the Parent Opinion Survey, please do not hesitate to contact ORIMA Research on 1800 654 585 (toll free), or by email: pos@orima.com

¨       Should you have any participation or survey-related queries, please contact the School, or the Department by email: parentopinion.survey@education.vic.gov.au.

Student Achievement Awards

The following awards will be handed out at Assembly this Friday in the JCB at 2:00pm (please note earlier time)

FKB - Bernie A - for working hard on his letter formation.

FKB - Hudson F - for using his manners consistently.

FKH - William E-R - for doing a fabulous job with his writing about gorillas.

1/2AM - Isla D - Being a kind and generous person in 1/2AM and always doing things with a smile on her face.

1/2AM - Mabel P - for her excellent attitude to all learning tasks. 

1/2CS - Gia L- Her beautiful reading! We are so proud of you! 

1/2CS - Harper M- Being a maths problem super star! 

1/2CS - Ted S- for an outstanding effort all term! Great work, Ted! 

1/2TT  - Lydia S  – for working hard at improving her maths skills.

1/2TT - Leni S – for working hard on all set activities and great contributions to discussions.

3/4VW - Fletcher R - for working hard to complete his inquiry bookwork.

3/4MS - Holly M - for her determination and persistence in completing her 'expo' work. Well done!

3/4MS - Archie T - for putting effort into his enquiry work and getting it finished. Well done!

5/6RC - Lilly B- for consistently demonstrating our school values of respect responsibility and teamwork.

5/6AB - Evie Mc - for always using excellent manners and being an awesome leader!

5/6AB - Riley S - for his organisation skills and assisting the teachers with photo day!

5/6MS - Evie W-B - for her kind and caring attitude towards others.

Tennis Report

On Friday the 9th of September 15 grade 5/6 students went on a bus to Gisborne to play Hot Shots Tennis. We thought it was going to be a rainy day since it poured down the night before, but fortunately the sun was shining bright on the day. Each round we played a doubles and a singles game. We had six rounds throughout the day and we all played in the semi finals. We won some games, we lost some games, but we all had lots of fun! Thank you to all the parents who came along and helped out and to Mr O for organising it. We had a great day! 

By Gemma A 

Indonesian News

If you didn't get to the expo to see the multimedia books that Year 5 and 6 students created about taste and the flavours of Indonesian food, you can view them by clicking on the links below. 

Special shout out to Jess (5/6MS) and Madison (5/6RC) for their work on the covers and 'Selamat!' to everyone who got the job done.

 https://bit.ly/56AB_RasanyaApa

https://bit.ly/56RC_RasanyaApa

https://bit.ly/56MS_RasanyaApa2 

Visual Art Report

This term has been a huge one in Visual Art. Print making is a materials-heavy, sometimes quite complex process but our amazing students brought amazing, positive energy to Visual Art and created some fabulous pieces. Our explorations of Steam Punk offered lots of inspiration.

For many of us, a huge highlight was the Yarn Bomb we completed and installed on the tree at the school entrance near the JCB building. It is a magnificently colourful and striking example of how “many (little) hands make light work”. The recent Gisborne Gazette newspaper featured a beautifully written article about the project, written by our very own Art Captain, Jessica Frankenberg. Well done Jess! 

Let’s not forget the fun of the recent Expo! Our inspiration came from Steam Punk, in line with the ‘Simple Machines’ Inquiry topic. Lots of little creators came along on the night to build robots of all shapes and sizes; including a giant robot creation by Max, Harrison, Estee, James and Sienna. I wish I could publish a video of these five amazing future world-beaters working beautifully together to achieve their goal. Their collaborative creation is our latest “Installation Art” and can be seen lurking in the JCB building.

Term four will see us exploring textiles. Mrs. Tulloch will spend her holidays cleaning very raw fleece, in preparation for natural dying and felting and at the student’s request, preparations will be made for tie dying as well.

Have a wonderful holiday break everyone and keep creating! 

STEM Update

For our last lesson this term, I thought a little (educational) competition with the Grade 3/4 students might be a fun way to learn about aerodynamics, in particular, Gravity, Lift, Thrust and Drag, and I think there is no better way to learn about this than seeing it in action, so, it was time for a Paper Plane competition! (I have been saving scrap paper for the past few weeks, so no new trees died in the making of this experiment)

Students experienced first hand how wind moves over the wings to generate lift (or the Coandă effect to sound clever), how the center of gravity can alter the trajectory of our planes, and by making two small changes (that would be folding our wings up slightly and putting two small curves at the ends of the wings for you competitive parents playing at home) we can easily double the distance of our flights.

Here you can see Jack strutting his finest 'high trajectory arc thrust' pose.

Have a great school holiday!

Daniel (Maverick  ✈️ ) Garcia

Middle Gully Program Update

15th September – Foundation classes

Parent helpers are always welcome, please sign in at the office prior to going over to Middle Gully and make sure the office has seen your current Working With Childrens Check.

Our sessions are on a Thursday afternoon from 2:00pm - 3:30pm. 

Younger siblings are welcome, but must be supervised by their parent or guardian.

Call out for a softball expert!

Mr O is searching for a parent who knows softball well and may be able to help the school umpire during our District event on the 4th of October. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please contact Mr O on david.oxworth@education.vic.gov.au or the office.

Sunsmart Reminder

In line with our Sunsmart policy, we ask that all students come to school with a wide brimmed hat. At recess and lunchtime and any other times when outdoors all students must wear a hat. Students who are not wearing hats will be asked to play in the shade or in a suitable area protected from the sun.

Hats are available for purchase at Beleza Uniforms in Gisborne, or you can purchase any wide brimmed navy hat. We have sunscreen at the office if the children would like to wear sunscreen.

Uniform Shop News

Outside School Hours Care

Please notify the office or email oshp@macedonps.vic.edu.au if your child is sick and will not be attending before or after school care.  

We now have spaces available for casual days, however you need to fill out an enrolment form PRIOR to your child starting at the service. f you have a permanent booking and do not need the service for After School please advise the program as soon as you know, preferably before 11.00am on the day so we are able to give that space to another child.  For Before School, please call before 6.30pm the day before or email the service on oshp@macedonps.vic.edu.au

Late cancellation fees apply if your child’s place is cancelled after 11.00am.  Further, if you do not cancel your child and they do not attend, fees may still apply.

Fees for 2022

Our rates for 2022 are: $16.00 for Before School Care (7:00am - 8:45am) and $23.00 for After School Care (3:30pm - 6:30pm). All you need to do is call the school 5426 1518 or email oshp@macedonps.vic.edu.au to book.  If the unexpected happens and a casual booking is required within 24 hours, please contact the school via phone, we cannot accept walk-ins after school.  Please note that enrolment forms need to be completed at least one business day before the first session of care.

Please pay through the school via Direct Deposit, using the following details (not BPay):

Account name: Macedon Primary School

BSB: 063-840

Account: 1003 4330

Vicki, Helen, Karen & Marie.

Community News

Macedon Ranges Storm Recovery Program

Anyone who was in the Macedon Ranges on June 9th, 2021, will remember the severe storm that caused widespread damage throughout big chunks of Victoria. The Macedon Ranges was heavily impacted with countless trees down, damage to properties and no power, phone or internet service for an extended period of time. Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health acknowledge the shocking nature of this event and would like to give young people the opportunity to share their experience of the storm and its aftermath. We feel it is important that what people went through is remembered and we will be putting together a video of mini-interviews so young people’s experiences are acknowledged and documented. If you are interested telling your story, please speak to a parent or guardian and contact Kylie from the Storm Recovery Program on 0491 089 598 or kylie.richardson@scchc.org by Friday 23rd September. A gift card will be provided to thank you for your time. 

Macedon Primary School

Macedon Primary School acknowledges the Wurundjeri people as the traditional owners of the country upon which we learn and work. We recognise their continuing connection to land, water and community and pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging.