Macedon Primary School Newsletter

31 August 2022

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

Principal's Report

Dear parents,

 Parent Information Session – Conversations around mental health 2  TONIGHT Wednesday 31st August 7:30pm - WebEx

This evening we are welcoming back Jennifer Dix and Dr Billy Garvey for the second instalment of our parent sessions: Conversation around mental health 2.  We will be exploring the question “How can we best support children’s emotional and social development in the primary school years?

I will be joining Jennifer and Billy online tonight, Wednesday 31st of August via WebEx. https://eduvic.webex.com/eduvic/onstage/g.php?MTID=ecd5529393ea1c073b7d37513272b436a

Macedon PS Learning Expo – How the world works. Thursday September 8, 4pm-6pm

We are little over a week away from our Learning Expo, we look forward to seeing you there and sharing our learning with you. 

The students have been engaging in and range science-based learning this term, from space, physics, forces, and habitats.  The topic is an exploration of the physical and material world; of natural and human-made phenomena; of the world of science and technology.

Xuno – School Management Platform

Thank you to those parents who have already signed up to the Xuno platform.  Xuno is a school management platform to help us streamline the information management at the front office.  It should act as a one stop shop for everything school related and help us get the information you need when you need it.

Currently on Xuno you can advise us of absences, update your personal details and access your child’s semester one reports.  In the future we plan to use the system to arrange excursion permission slips and payments in a paperless way and manage all our news and announcements.  I encourage you to login via your welcome email, use the button on the Macedon PS webpage or click the link below.

You should have all received a welcome email inviting you to sign up, if you have not received this email or have any questions, please contact the office macedon.ps@education.vic.gov.au 

Kind regards and Sampai jumpa (until next time),

 

Matt

Head lice

Head lice are common in school-aged children and are the most adaptable of creatures.  They have survived living solely on human for 10 000 years.  You may be reassured to know that they are commonly found in places other than Macedon Primary.

 Some of the reasons they have survived for as long as they have are:

·    The six legs of a louse end in a claw, allowing them to grip the hair.

·    They detect vibration and can hide - (conditioner will help fix this problem)

·    Head lice can ‘hold’ their breath for 20 mins – looking like they are dead.

·     The eggs are attached to the hair with a ‘glue’ like substance.  Studies conducted on 45 different products to dissolve the ‘glue’ showed nothing would dissolve it.

The good news…

We know where they live and we know how to find them.

If you follow these steps, once a week, the control of head lice in your home will be greatly improved.

Step1       Comb inexpensive hair conditioner on to dry, brushed (detangled) hair.  This makes it difficult for lice to grip the hair or run around;

Step 2 Wipe the conditioner from the comb onto a paper towel or tissue;

Step 3 Look on the tissue and on the comb for lice and eggs;

Step 4 If lice or eggs are found, the child should be treated;

Step 5      If the child has been treated recently and only hatched eggs are found, you may not have to treat since the eggs could be from the old infection.

 If your child has head lice – tell anyone who has had head to head contact with them and ask them to check their family for head lice.

Important Dates

31 August - Conversations Around Mental Health https://eduvic.webex.com/eduvic/onstage/g.php?MTID=ecd5529393ea1c073b7d37513272b436a

1 September - ICAS Maths Exam

2 September - Grade 1/2 swimming, Kyneton

5 September - Grade 1/2 swimming, Kyneton

8 September - Science Expo 4 - 6 pm

9 September - Grade 5/6 Hot shot tennis, Gisborne 

12 September - Curriculum Day - student free day

13 September - School photo day 

14 September - District basketball

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)

School photos - 13 September

School Photos will be taking place on Tuesday the 13th of September. All students should have received a personalized envelope with their name own unique code written om it. You may pay online using your credit card or cash.

Sibling photo envelopes are available at the school office.

Do not seal envelopes inside each other, you may include payment for all children in one envelope, however, please indicate on this envelope the names of all children you are paying for.

All students should wear correct school uniform.

All payments need to be made by photo day.

From the office

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

Student Achievement Awards

The following awards will be handed out at Assembly this Friday in the JCB at 3:00pm

FKH - Lylah L - for her wonderful efforts at ordering numbers.

FKH - Katie H - for her positive attitude to school!

FKB - Will D - for recognising the need to use full stops and capital letters.

FKB - Ben H - for making such positive starts to each day.

1/2AM - Anja E - for writing a very entertaining fractured fairytale.

1/2AM - Willow B -P- for always giving 110% to her learning.

1/2AM - Elliot P - For writing a wonderful fractured fairytale. independently. 

1/2CS - Kyle W- For his terrific space character design and description in his beautiful, neat handwriting. Excellent work! 

1/2CS - Ruby F- For her excellent work in mathematics. Outstanding effort, Ruby! 

1/2CS - Archie B- For a terrific effort to complete his best work. Keep it up, Archie! 

1/2CS - Theo L- For his terrific space character design and description in his beautiful, neat handwriting. Excellent work! 

1/2TT - Pippa B - for fantastic listening and being ready for learning.

1/2TT - Eliza H - for working hard on all her learning.

3/4GS - Levi F - for his unbelievable basketball skills! Keep up the great work.

3/4GS - Ivy D - for an outstanding narrative "The Girls and The Dolphin" Excellent work!

3/4MS - Indi M - for her excellent help in the library, well done!

3/4MS - Jack B - for his wonderful writing efforts and fantastic 'owl' narrative. Well done!

3/4MS - Arwen J - for her excellent research skills and wonderful inquiry presentations. 

3/4VW - Lucy R - for great efforts at completing her work.

3/4VW - Isaac B - for showing perseverance in completing his work. 

5/6RC - Jade L - for being mature and responsible when trying to find a solution to a problem in the yard.

5/6MS - Mia P - for showing great kindness and care towards others.

Art Awards

Emmanuel A - 5/6MS - for being determined to build on his exceptional skills in visual art.

Oskar M - FKB - for being super organised and very creative in Art.

Bookweek parade

Athletics Report

On the 30th of August a group of the Grade 3s, 4s, 5s and 6s went down to Keilor Athletics park for district athletics .There were many events that people competed in and all tried their best and gave it a go. 

The events people participated in were High jump, Long jump , Triple jump ,800 metres ,1500 metres, 200 metre sprint,100 metres sprint , shotput and discus. 

 The 1st place-getters were Harry Nicholas for triple jump, Sam Cross for hurdles, Jade Leech for 200 metres. 

The second place-getters were Remy Livingston for discus, James Meldrum for High jump, Max Moncrief for shot put and Polly Sawyers for discus.

Overall it was an amazing day! ;D

Freya

Middle Gully Program Update

1st September – 1/2TT and 1/2AM

8th September – No Landcare – preparation for Expo

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.

Art Update

Art isn't always about producing a product; it's also about wondering and watching and drawing inspiration from the amazing world we live in. Our determination to be outside expressing ourselves through Art led us to some wonderful discoveries in the garden.  style of learning in the art room to help students develop the strongest possible sense of themselves as artists. Our students have risen to that challenge unbelievably well this year. 

HELP!!!

The hunt for small grocery boxes, for the upcoming Expo evening, continues!

PLEASE hunt through the pantry, the recycling and the bathroom cabinet for small boxes, for our fabulous robot making activity. They can be dropped off at the Art room any time.

Thank you! 😊

STEM Update

Today the sun was shining, so, it was time to take our lesson outside.

In Foundation, we have been talking about robots and what they do well, one of those things is being very, very accurate.

To that end, we looked at some new things today: Measurement, Distance and Estimation.

We measured distance using a trundle wheel (don't worry, I had to look up the name of the thing first too) and estimated how many steps it would take us to walk around the oval (that would be around 250 steps for 'big legs' and 300 steps for 'a little shorter legs')

Next week we are going to control some robots to do the same and see if they can do a better job (or at least, not be as tempted to jump into a puddle on the walk around, like some of the humans... sorry about that)

Mr. Garcia

Scholastic Book Club - Term 3

How to Order on Book Club

- Simple online ordering process. https://mybookclubs.scholastic.com.au/parent/login.aspx

- Each Issue of Book Club is only offered for a limited time, so order as soon as you can!

Our next bookclub orders are due by the 2nd of September

Family Portrait Fundraiser - 11 September

We are pleased to advise that our family portrait fundraiser is on this year. We have used this company previously and the photos are always beautiful. If the weather permits, photos can be taken in the blossoming orchard at Middle Gully. If you have any queries, please contact Ronelle on 0413900804. Bookings can be made at the following link:

The booking link may say sold out, but that is only for the first timeslot, there are plenty of spaces available.

Macedon Primary School - Booking by Bookwhen

Fell free to share with neighbours / friends / families

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. 

Event at Dromkeen this weekend

Our book event this coming Saturday, September 3rd, from 1.00-3.00pm at Dromkeen, the original home of Australian Children’s Literature in Riddells Creek. Award winning author Corinne Fenton (who wrote Little Dog and the Christmas Wish- featured in the Myer Christmas window) will be launching a brand new picture-storybook ‘Votes for Women’ for fabulous author/ illustrator Mark Wilson at 1.00pm. 

Then at 2.00pm Corinne will be reading her beautiful picture book ‘Subbie and His Mate’, about SubZero the Melbourne Cup winner and his owner Graham Salisbury. Mark Wilson will then teach everyone how to draw horses and other animals. This year marks the 30 year anniversary of SubZero winning the Melbourne Cup, so it will be a very special event. 

We would love as many of our local families, teachers, lovers of children’s literature etc to have the opportunity to attend the event. If you feel it is suitable we would appreciate it if the school would pass on the invitation to your families and staff members please. I have attached a copy of the flyer for you to use. It would be great if people could RSVP.

 Kindest regards,

Bernadette Joiner, Owner/ Manager, Dromkeen - 1012 Kilmore Rd

Riddells Creek, PH: 0432282704

Sunbury & Macedon Ranges - R U Okay Day

Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health is very pleased to let you know that we are partnering with Macedon Ranges Shire Council, Sunbury Business Association and Sunbury Connected Communities to deliver a local R U OK? Day campaign starting 1st September.   

 As part of this campaign the Building Healthy Communities Team at Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health will be offering a free 30 minute webinar, 6:00 PM Thursday,  1st September. 

The webinar is open to anyone in the community and will address how people can be confident and effective when asking if someone is okay? The webinar will also discuss available supports and how to help someone experiencing life challenges. The webinar is free, but bookings are essential. Please share this information with your networks and co-workers.

Register here: Sunbury and Macedon Ranges R U OK? Webinar - 1st September, 2022 Survey (surveymonkey.com)

 #RUOKSunburyMRS 

#RUOKDay2022 

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.