Mount Macedon Primary Newsletter

Care - Create - Collaborate

Mount Macedon Primary School aims to develop positive, independent, resilient and inquiring students who are ready for the future.


Principal's Report

Tuesday 3rd May 2022

Hello everyone,

The first week of term was settled and happy. It was lovely to have everyone back. As you are now aware, COVID rules have relaxed and you are now, all welcome in the school. Masks are no longer required, unless you are a household contact of someone who has tested positive. If you are visiting or dropping students off, you do not need to show any vaccination status. If you are working in the school you will need to show vaccination status, which we will keep on record with your Working with Children Checks.

I’m really happy to welcome you back inside the building. Please come on in. In a few weeks (at the start of June) we will be holding an Open Day to invite you in to watch the children working on their IB Primary Years Programme units of work.

Swimming lessons started yesterday. We had a couple of hiccups with class sizes and children not in the correct group, but I have spoken to the Aquatic Centre Manager, and it should all be sorted out quickly. Sadly, as with many workplaces, they are struggling with staff numbers due to illness and so some of the groups are larger than the expected 1:6 ratio that we had contracted for.

We know from experience that over the next two weeks, the children will get tired. We also know that a sustained, every day approach to swimming produces better results that one day per week for 10 weeks. Given that many students have missed lessons for the past two years, it is important that we work to catch them up in this area too. Please let us know if you have any concerns.

Next week our Grade 3 and 5 students will be starting their NAPLAN testing. They will do four different tests – Reading, Writing, Numeracy and Language Conventions (spelling, grammar, and punctuation). This year, our Grade 5 students will undertake the testing online for all subjects and Grade 3 students will handwrite for the Writing component and use computer for the rest. This is a change from all paper and pencil in the past, so it will be interesting to see our results.

Thanks so much to the energetic and committed Quinn family who have been working hard on developing our new vegetable garden area down near the playground. It is going to be fantastic. The planter boxes were made by Andrew and I’m very grateful for the time the family has given to the school.

We currently have a whiteboard out the front of the school with some Working Bee jobs on it. If you have a spare hour, any time, it would be wonderful if you could do one of the tasks, as we need to tidy up the school before it becomes a polling place on May 21st. The whole community will be visiting our school to vote, and I would love to show off what a gorgeous spot it is. Any help is gratefully received. On the day, FOS will be holding the usual Election BBQ and are after some helpers to give them an hour on the sausage sizzle. Please let us know if you can commit an hour on the day, as we usually raise quite a bit of money for the school at this event.

A quick congratulations to the Woods family who welcomed their fourth child over the holidays. Welcome to the world George!

The Mother’s Day function is on this Friday night 6th May at the Wine Collective. I hope that if you are attending, you all have a wonderful night celebrating YOU! To our mothers, and women of influence in a child’s life (grandmothers, aunties etc) I will be celebrating you all on Sunday. They are roles that often mean the most in a child’s life. We all know the dream of parenting does not often match the reality of the day-to-day ups and downs, but from the perspective of a Mum whose children are now grown, it is the best gig I have ever had. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to you all.

Have a lovely week everyone.

Kind regards

Trish

Our new vegetable garden area

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MMPS Update by School Reporter Eliza

Hello everyone.

The second term of school has already blown in like the leaves on the colourful autumn trees. All the students have settled in and got used to the new year and all the exciting things that have happened and are coming up. You can hear the chatter and excitement of it all, about holidays, and coming back to school after a two week break. 

The grade six jackets have arrived, and everyone is excited. Everyone is also excited about being the leaders of the school, and having responsibilities for us to tackle and achieve.

There are a few sporting events coming up as well. Our intensive swimming is coming up, where we will be swimming for two weeks, and be taught the importance of staying safe whilst having fun, splashing and swimming in the water. We also have a few district sporting events soon like football, followed by netball and soccer. Chatter is increasing about these events.         

Term two has already had a great start. Welcome back everyone.

Eliza 

Grade 6 Jackets have arrived!

New Flying Fox Opening

Our community was invited to attend the opening of a new flying fox that was constructed at Ash Wednesday Park in Macedon (near the train station). The opening was held last Friday afternoon and we had two students from our school, Lenny Gr 4 and Jocelyn Gr 6 selected to be part of the opening ceremony. It was a lovely afternoon where children received icy poles and took turns to ride on the new flying fox! We are sure it is going to be a fun and enjoyable attraction for all the children in our community.

Lunchtime Activities

Our sand pit is always a very popular spot during recess and lunchtimes, and it was recently revived with some fresh new sand. Thank you to everyone who helped fill the sand pit with numerous wheel barrow trips to create a fun space for our students to play. Below is photo of some of our students enjoying the new sand, making all sorts of wonderful creations.

Grand Prix Trophy

Last term, during Grand Prix Week, our students were lucky enough to have a very special guest come and visit! We were all excited to have Mr John Flynn come in and talk to the students about the trophy that he made for the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix 2022. Mr Flynn talked to the students about the theme for this year's trophy which was "the old and the new", and explained how he incorporated this theme into the stunning trophy he created for the winner of the 2022 Australian Grand Prix. Mr Flynn brought the trophy in to show the students how he used the shape of the steering wheel from a race car once driven by Jack Brabham, a famous Australian Grand Prix driver and the carbon fibre they currently use on the body of our modern F1 car, to make the trophy. The students were so excited to have the opportunity to get up close and personal to the trophy. What an absolute treat! A big thank you to Mr. Flynn for taking the time to come out and show us the amazing trophy.

Sushi Mondays!

Sushi is here at MMPS. In addition to our lunch orders on Wednesdays and Fridays, we will be offering Sushi Lunch Orders on Mondays. Orders are to be placed via QKR only, no cash. Orders will close at 9am on the Monday morning of delivery. The Sushi menu is available on QKR.

MMPS School Photo Day 2022

Mount Macedon Primary School School Photo Day for 2022 is Tuesday 10th May. Please ensure that your children are in correct school uniform on the day. See below for more information on purchase and payment procedure. We have spare envelopes for individual and family photos at the school office if you require them.

Save the Date - Neon Disco

Mother's Day Soiree

Save the Date

Saturday 18th of June for our upcoming Parents Night. More information about the event to follow soon.

Music in Term 2

The Ranges Music Network team is looking forward to getting back to music in Term 2!  Your young musicians can choose from Keyboard, Violin, Harp, Voice, Brass & Woodwinds, Percussion & Drums plus our fun and exciting Rhythm Warriors jam band program.  All in small groups with low ratios.  Plus we have an all new instrument rental program from Guitars and Keyboards to Saxophones & Drum Kits!

Email shaun@rangesmusic.net to get started!  

From the Office

Term 2

We are very happy that parents are allowed back into school grounds and buildings. 

Working with Children’s Checks

A reminder to all parents/guardians to register MMPS as a volunteer organisation on the Working with Children’s Check website.  On updating your details, The Department of Justice send us an official letter which we keep on record and check through when parents opt to volunteer for activities.

Thank you to the parents and volunteers who have already provided this information.  Many activities and events would not go ahead without you! 

Please also remember that if you are working or volunteering in the school for activities such as reading, we will need to sight your Covid Vaccination Certificate.

Late Arrival, Early Departure & Absence

Thank you to everyone for being diligent and signing your children in and out.  This is important to ensure accurate attendance records for your child/ren and is also used in the event of an emergency. 

A reminder, the Late Book and Early Departures Book is located at the reception desk. 

If your child/ren are absent, please leave a message on the school absence line as early as possible.

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)

Do you hold a valid, means-tested concession card? The Victorian Government will provide CSEF to assist eligible families to cover the costs of school trips, camps and sporting activities. If you hold a valid means-tested concession card or are a temporary foster parent, you may be eligible for CSEF.  A special consideration category also exists for asylum seeker and refugee families. The allowance is paid to the school to use towards expenses relating to camps, excursions or sporting activities for the benefit of your child. Please see the below attached for more information and an application form. Please contact the School Office if you have any further enquiries.

CSEF Financial Assistance Information

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CSEF Application Form 2022

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Term 2 Tennis

Futsal

Auskick 2022

Puppet Show

The Mount Players

Woodend Lifestyle Carers Group Fundraiser

Young Voices of Macedon

Young Voices of Macedon, a community choir for children of the Macedon Ranges invites primary school children to join us in Term 2. Under the direction of well-known and highly respected conductor Polly Christie, the choir has groups for younger and older children, which work both separately and together to learn a great variety of fun songs. The current emphasis is on songs about the environment. The choir also aims to provide quality training in voice production, part singing and performance, and features a friendly social environment.

Rehearsals take place on Thursdays at 4.15 pm at the Norma Richardson Hall, Buckland Street, Woodend. For further information visit www.yvmacedon.org.au

Important Dates

Monday 2nd May - Friday 13th May - Swimming Program

Friday 6th May - Mother's Day Soiree

Sunday 8th May - Mother's Day

Monday 9th May -  District Football

Tuesday 10th May - School Photo Day

Friday 27th May - Neon Disco

Saturday 18th June - Parent Event


2022 Term Dates

Term 1 - Monday 31st January to Friday 8th April

Term 2 - Tuesday 26th April to Friday 24th June

Term 3 - Monday 11th July to Friday 16th September

Term 4 - Monday 3rd October to Tuesday 20th December