Macedon Primary School Newsletter

20 July 2022

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

Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

We’ve made it through a first week that was typical of a cold Macedon winter. Rain, wind and icy cold mornings. In saying that there has been some terrific learning happening in the classrooms. Keep up the great work everybody.

Principal’s Network Meeting

On Monday we hosted the Macedon Ranges Principal’s Network Meeting in the JCB. It was a lovely opportunity to showcase our school to Principals in the area. They were blown away with our amazing audio visual equipment. I would like to thank Ginny Tulloch (the scone master) who gave up her time to bake delicious scones for morning tea. Hopefully in the future we will be able to host more of these meetings.

Facemasks

Yesterday you will have received an email that strongly recommended that staff and students (over 8 years of age) wear masks in indoor settings. Wearing masks is a simple step we can all take this winter to reduce the number of COVID-19 and influenza cases and ensure our school is safe as possible. Further details are below.

Library Learning Hub

Works on the Library Learning Hub are going along nicely. Yesterday I met with the architect and builders, and it is anticipated the space will be complete before the end of the term. Painting is underway, as is fitting out the electrical works and carpet is expected to be laid next week. It will be an amazing learning space for our students once operational.

Farmers’ Market

The Macedon Village Farmers’ Market will be setting up on the school basketball courts on Saturday 30th July between 8am and 1pm.  Drop in, grab a coffee and support our local farmers and producers.  Proceeds from the stall site fees go directly to the school to support school improvements and student programs.

Till next week

Karren Baker (Acting Principal)

New Learning Hub taking shape

Important Dates

30 July - Macedon Village Farmers Market

12 August - Grade 3/4 Excursion to zoo

15 August - Grade 1/2 excursion to Bendigo

18 August - ICAS English exam

19 August - District Athletics (selected Yr 3 -6 students)

22 August - Grade 1/2 swimming, Kyneton 

26 August - Grade 1/2 swimming, Kyneton 

29 August - Grade 1/2 swimming, Kyneton

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 

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)

Coldest morning so far this year - 2!

Dressing for Macedon Winter

Winter is in full swing and the mornings are frosty, we remind parents to dress their children with plenty of layers. The classrooms are all warm, however at recess and lunchtime the children need to be dressed appropriately.  Our lost property has numerous jackets, jumpers and coats. I Please come in and take a look.

If your child is coming home muddy, please pack a spare set of clothes in their bag. We have limited spare clothes in sick bay and would appreciate if you could supply your own.

New COVID Settings

Face Masks 

All Victorians are now encouraged to wear a mask when with other people indoors and when you cannot physically distance, including outdoors.

Wearing a face mask can help protect you, your child/ren and those around you. Face masks stop droplets spreading when people talk, cough, sneeze and laugh, which lowers the chance of spreading or catching the virus. This information is especially important for those who are medically at risk.

The Victorian government’s advice recommends people over 8 years of age wear a face mask in indoor settings, except for close contacts, who must wear a mask indoors unless an exception applies. If you wish your child to wear a mask at school, and/or they themselves wish to wear a mask, we will ensure they are supported to do that. We have a supply of children's and adult masks at school or you can send your child to school with their own mask.

People are now exempt from testing and isolating four weeks after getting COVID, instead of 12 weeks.

Parents and carers who have COVID-19 can transport their non-COVID-19 children via private vehicle to their primary or secondary school when an alternative person is not available to assist. This will include school holiday programs held on school grounds.

This means that parents and carers will be able to leave COVID self-isolation to take their non-COVID-19 child to school or school holiday programs via a private vehicle.

The parent or carer must travel directly to and from the school only. They must remain in the vehicle at all times, unless it is reasonably necessary to leave the vehicle to walk the child to and from the entrance of the school safely. They must wear a face mask at all times.

Family members are asked to continue reporting positive COVID-19 cases to both the Department of Health and our own testing portal.

You must also let the school know if your child is a close contact. Students who are close contacts and want to attend should still take 5 RATs over 7 days and wear a face mask whilst indoors if they are aged 8 years or over.

Students should continue to stay home if they are unwell, even if they test negative on a RAT.

Rapid Antigen Tests

Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) will continue to be available in our school in Terms 3 and 4.

RATs continue to be required by students who are household contacts to attend school (5 negative tests over a 7 day period) or who have symptoms.

The ongoing supply of RATs to families in our school will ensure that parents and carers will have them should they need them if their child is a household contact or has symptoms.

Families must continue to notify the Department of Health and the school if their child returns a positive RAT result. Additionally, you should inform us if any of your children are household contacts.

Thank you also to all families who have got their child vaccinated.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has updated its recommendations around fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccination. From Monday 11 July 2022, people over 30 years will be eligible for a fourth dose. ATAGI recommends that people aged 50 to 64 years should have their fourth dose, while those aged 30 to 49 years may choose to have a fourth dose. For further information see the ATAGI website.

Getting vaccinated is easy and bookings can be done via the coronavirus website. If you have any questions about the vaccines, I encourage you to speak to your GP or a health practitioner.

For more information about face mask requirements, visit the Coronavirus website.

https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/parents-carers-and-guardians 

From the office

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 

Absences / Holidays

If you have planned absences such as holidays please let the office know via email, phone or there are forms available from the office. We can then let the teachers know and they can arrange a learning plan for your children. 

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 - Daisy R - for her fabulous efforts with all her literacy activities.

FKH - Lylah L - for great effort with writing about her favourite toy.

FKB - Nettles P - for working hard to master counting by 10's

1/2TT - Liam K - for always doing his personal best and caring about others.

1/2TT - Chloe B - for always being ready for learning and producing fabulous work.

1/2CS - Eloise M - for approaching her school day with enthusiasm and cheerfulness and always doing her best!

1/2CS - Sean P - for his insightful comments and contributions in class discussions. We love your ideas!

3/4GS - Lorna L - for an outstanding effort in our vertebrates and invertebrates activities. Well done Lorna!

3/4GS - Bella D - for wonderful work on our lifecycle activity in inquiry. Great work Bella!

3/4VW - Edith P - for great work in class.

3/4VW - Clio F - for excellent work on her maths project.

5/6MS - Hunter F - for his dedicated attitude towards learning.

5/6MS - Jessica F - for her fabulous work creating 3D sculpture in maths!

5/6AB - Ryan D - for working hard on his past, present and future tenses and bringing laughter into the classroom.

5/6AB - Lexie J - for an excellent summary of 'The Giver' during reading.

5/6RC - Charlie W - for being an excellent role model for partner reading.

5/6RC - Erica S - for being an excellent role model for partner reading.

Visual Art

Oskar M - FKB - for amazing Steam Punk art this week

Jack B - FKH - for always being a cheerful and hard-working artist.

Charlotte B - FKH - for always working very hard in visual art.

STEM:

Lola C - FKH - for her amazing plane game she designed.

River B-P - FKB - for her very detailed game design, I look forward to playing it!

Middle Gully Program Update

21 July - 5/6MS 

Mr O is currently working on a plan for the remainder of the term. 

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.

The Interschool Snowsport Championships

The Interschool Snowsport Championships are held at Mt Buller, beginning on Monday August 22, 2022. The event provides an opportunity for Australian school students of all ages to experience snowsport and to participate at either a recreational or competitive level.

In recent years Macedon Primary School has had a number of students attend the event. The school does not provide any transport or accommodation to the event, you would need to organise transport and accommodation yourself. There are no staff members attending the event.

Students from Foundation to Year 6 can compete for their school as part of a team or an individual in any of our nine discipline events. The 2 most popular events are:

1.      Alpine - Skiers are timed on a modified giant slalom course

2.      Ski Cross - Skiers are timed individually on a course including jumps and high-banked turns

There are 3 Primary School divisions:

Division 4 – Years 5 and 6

Division 5 – Years 3 and 4

Division 6 – Foundation to Year 2

 

If you would like further information or to register for the event, please see Mr O. You can also get further information and the schedule of events from the website:

https://www.interschools.com.au/home-victoria/2022-vic-champs-event-info/

Thanks

Mr O

ICAS - Assessments for Yrs 3 -6

What is ICAS? 

ICAS is an online academic competition that is designed to assess students’ higher order thinking and problem-solving skills in English and Mathematics. 

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals. 

We encourage you to consider entering your child into ICAS this year.  

 Learn more about ICAS here. (https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas) 

 How to participate in ICAS 

If you wish for your child to participate in ICAS this year, please: 

1.   read about ICAS subjects and prices here: (https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas

2.   go to Parent Portal herehttps://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps 

3.   enter our school’s access code –     FUW928

4.   enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, then proceed to payment. 

 Please note that the ICAS tests shown for selection are at the school’s discretion.  

After payment is made via the Parent Payment System, you will receive an order confirmation email, please keep this for your records. 

18 August - ICAS English exam

1 September -  ICAS Maths Exam

We will notify you when your child’s ICAS results are ready. You and your child can access the results once released via the Reports Portal using the TAP ID and pin found on the back of the ICAS certificate. 

 We are proud to offer ICAS and look forward to some fantastic results later in the year. 

**Payment needs to be made by 1st August 2022**

Please do not hesitate to contact the school office if you have any questions. 

Visual Art Report

We have been continuing our study of the Steam Punk art movement this week. Charlie W created this amazing robot arm with a Steam Punk watch.

Something we really value in the Art space is collaborative projects. James, Max, Harrison and Lukas really love collaborating and this week they revisited finger painting as a team.

Next week we will start print-making, using some of the ideas we’ve learned about Steam Punk and Simple Machines.

Digital Tech / STEM Update

We have talked about computer hardware in Foundation, so today we talked about software, and what better way to do that than to make our own.

So, students were designers today and came up with plans for their very own app or game - the twist here, they are going to give their designs to the Grade 5/6 students and I am going to get them to make them into actual working programs (oh, and I haven't told the Grade 5/6's that bit yet, so let's keep that a secret for now)

Mr. Garcia

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.

National Water Week Poster Competition

To celebrate National Water Week, we’re calling for primary-aged students to design a poster that reflects this year’s theme, 'Our Water Stories'.

Student prizes

The winners in each category receive:

• First prize is a $100 gift card

• Second prize is a $50 gift card

• Third prize is a $30 gift card.

First prize winners in each category are entered into the state level competition.

School prize

A school prize of $500 is awarded to a school each year towards a sustainable project at their school. This prize is proudly supported by Southern Rural Water.

Schools whose students enter the poster competition are automatically eligible to win the school prize.

Categories

• Prep/Foundation

• Years 1 – 2

• Years 3 - 4

• Years 5 – 6

• Students with additional learning needs

Key dates

• Entries close: Midnight, Friday 2 September 2022

• Winners will be announced during National Water Week, 17-23 Oct

Entry conditions

• Poster size must be A4 or A3

• Any medium, from paper to digital, can be used

• Any art material and digital technology can be used, including paint, textas, crayons, coloured pencils, collage materials, original photographs and digital graphics

• Uploaded files are limited to 20MB

• Image files should be in .JPG or .PNG formats

• Group artwork will not be accepted (only one student per artwork)

• Each student can only enter once.

How to enter

Visit National Water Week.com.au. Enter your school’s postcode to find your local competition and upload your poster.

Need inspiration

Visit our website, www.gww.com.au/nww to take a look at last year’s winning entries.

Questions

Please contact our education team:

• Call: 0404 865 597

• Email: education@gww.com.au

• Website: www.gww.com.au/nww

 


Community News

Macedon Village Farmers Market - Saturday 30th July - Macedon Primary

The Macedon Village Farmers Market is having a "Christmas In July" theme. The market will be indoors in the JCB at Macedon Primary on Saturday the 30th of July from 9am - 1pm. Please come along to support the market which in turn supports the school.

Have you got something important to say?

Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health and Sunbury Aboriginal Corporation are inviting people between the ages of 9 and 25 to join Kid x Plus.

At Kid x Plus we will help you to develop a talk which will be presented to politicians, experts and decision makers, making sure that they know about the things that young people care about.  Last year’s Kid x Plus speakers talked about a range of topics including mental health, education, discrimination, disability and the environment to name a few. 

Even if you don’t want to give a talk, you can still join Kid x Plus as part of our event team, helping us to run the event.

Registrations close 22 July.  To find out more and to register go to: https://sunburycobaw.org.au/kid-x-plus/

If you have any queries about Kid x Plus, please contact Matt Gleeson, Building Healthy Communities, Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health on 9744 9516 or at matt.gleeson@scchc.org.au

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.