Macedon Primary School Newsletter

28 April 2021

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

Principal's Report

Dear parents,

Sports Day

Today was a glorious day in the Macedon Ranges for the annual house athletics sports.  The year 3- 6 students travelled down to Dixon Field in Gisborne to compete for their houses.  I commend all of our students for putting in their best effort and wish those who made it through to the next level of competition all the very best.

Outside School Hours Care (OSHC)

I would like to acknowledge the work that Vicki Leening, our OSHC coordinator has put into the OSHC service recently.  The service, in order to support the children in their care better understand sustainability, have installed and will be maintaining some veggie garden wicking beds near the John Curtin Building.  Vicki worked with some local contractors and parent helpers to set up the beds so the children in the OSHC service can look after the gardens and learn more about sustainability and growing their own food.  The OSHC service runs between 7am and 9am in the morning and between 3:30pm and 6:30pm in the evening.  If you are interested in sending your child to either before school care or after school care, please contact Vicki Leening on 5426 1518 or oshp@macedonps.vic.edu.au  Please find more details about our OSHC service on our website.

NAPLAN – 11-13 May

The nationwide NAPLAN assessments for our Year 3 and Year 5 students is fast approaching.  The assessments will be occurring between the 11th and 13th of May.

Language and Writing – Tuesday 11 May

Reading – Wednesday 12 May

Numeracy – Thursday 13 May

The NAPLAN tests are an important check-in for our school, our state and the education system in Australia.  The results support us to measure our success and identify areas for improvement with our teaching.   For parents of students in year three and five, this is just one of a number of assessments your children will complete through the course of the year.  I encourage you to keep the daily routines normal as we approach the week and describe the period as a normal week at school.   There may be additional anxiety that your child feels as we approach these assessments, however we ask you to encourage your child to focus on doing their best and putting in their best effort just like they do with all of the other assessments they complete throughout the year.  Your child’s teacher will be working hard to create a supportive and safe environment and give all students the skills they need to put their best effort forward during the assessment period.

If you have any questions about the NAPLAN assessments or would like to discuss them with me please call the school to make a time to see me or feel free to email me matthew.forrest@education.vic.gov.au

Annual Report – Presentation to the community – Wednesday 5th May

I am currently putting the final touches on the 2020 annual report to the community for school council approval.  I will be presenting this document to the community at School Council on Wednesday 5 May and I will also be offering you all the opportunity to tune in via WebEx at 7:30pm.  I invite you all to join me and the school council by clicking the following link at 7:30pm on Wednesday https://eduvic.webex.com/join/forrest.matthew.j 

School Council Sub-Committees

I am calling for volunteers to sit on the school council sub-committee this year.  There are a number of committees that support the ongoing running of various parts of the school.  Parent support on these committees is important in helping us achieve our whole school goals and ensure the school is run efficiently with strong governance processes.

If you are interested in joining one of the following sub-committees please email me by 4pm Tuesday May 5.

Please see below for the details of the sub-committees:

Committee

Overview of Role

Valuable Skills and/or interests

Time commitment

Buildings and Grounds Committee:

 

Support the school's buildings and grounds maintenance and capital works through support on the working bee days or preparation for working bee days.  Support the Principal in prioritising and making decisions about maintenance and capital works of all of the buildings and grounds.

Trade or home handy person experience or interest in.

-          Painting

-          Gardening

-          Carpentry

-          Landscape gardening

-          Other

One meeting per term and support in preparing for the working bee days through purchase of equipment and supplies for working bee jobs.  Attendance at working bees is helpful but not essential.

Education and Policy Committee

 

Reviewing old and developing new school wide policies to support the safe, effective and efficient running of the school.  This committee is supported by DET template policies for most DET required policies.

An eye for detail and an interest in developing strong written policy and processes.

One meeting per term and ongoing policy work between meetings.

OSHC Committee

Support the school by helping the OSHC service to run efficiently and maintain a focus on continual improvement.

Budgeting or accounting experience or childcare experience and/or an interest in supporting the OSHC service to make improvements.

One meeting per term and ongoing support of the OSHC service between meetings.

Pine Plantation Committee

Support the school to manage the Macedon PS pine plantation on Cable street in Macedon.  This pine plantation is ready for harvest and will be the focus of the work in 2021.

Town planning, local government or experience with writing and negotiating contracts and/or a keen interest in the Macedon Pine Plantation.

One meeting per term and email communication between meetings with the committee and other key stakeholders

Farmers Market Committee

Support the school by working with the Farmers Market committee to organise and run the Macedon Farmers Market events on the 5th Saturday in May, July and October.

An interest in supporting the Farmers market in the Macedon community.

Periodic meetings throughout the year in the lead up to Farmers Market events.  Support with set up and pack down of the 9am-1pm markets on the 5th Saturday of May, July and October.

 Matthew Forrest

Principal

Latest Department of Education advice on COVID19

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/Pages/coronavirus-advice-parents.aspx


Important Dates

28 April - House Athletics - Yr 3-6 

5 May - Mother's Day stall ($5 gifts)

11 May - NAPLAN for Yr 3 & Yr 5 - Language and writing

12 May - NAPLAN for Yr 3 & Yr 5 - Reading

13 May - NAPLAN for Yr 3 & Yr 5 - Numeracy

14 June - Queen's Birthday public holiday (school closed)

25 June - Last day of Term 2 (2:30 dismissal)

TERM 3:

12 July - School Curriculum Day (no students)

13 July - First day of Term 3

7 September - Whole School Photo Day

17 September - Last day of Term 3 (2:30 dismissal)

TERM 4:

5 October - First Day of Term 4

13 October - 15 October - Grade 3/4 Camp Weekaway

25 October - 29 October - Grade 5/6 Cape Bridgewater Camp

2 November - Melbourne Cup public holiday (school closed)

17 December - Last day of year (1:30pm dismissal)

Notes sent home

**Please note, notes can also be found on the Macedon Primary website under the 'Parents' tab and then 'Event' section.

Yr 5 & 6 Students - Somers School Camp Expression of interest 

Yr 6 to Yr 7 Transition forms

Mother's Dall Stall flyer

Yr 6 Bomber Jacket Invoices

From the Office

Parent payments for Cross Country / House Athletics

We have had some families pay twice for these events or pay for children that will not be attending (these events were for years 3 - 6). If you have overpaid, a credit will sit on your account or be put towards other fees on your account. If you have any questions, please contact the office.

Lost Property from Y1 & Y2 camps

We have a number of items of lost property from the Yr 1 and Y2 camps held at the end of last term. If you are missing something, please ask your child to speak to Miss Hall in 1KH.

Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF)

To the families that have applied for the Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund (CSEF), these funds have now been received by the School for this school year. When filling out permission forms for camps, sports or excursions, can you please tick CSEF in the payment box and we will allocate these funds against the cost of the excursion. Funds received from previous years that have not been used have been carried forward to this year. Please don't hesitate to contact the office should you have any queries regarding the amount of CSEF you have to use for your child.

Absence Notifications

If your child is late or absent from school without explanation from parents, an SMS will be sent to Adult A at around 10.15am. Please respond to the SMS promptly. Please note the following: 

If your child is LATE FOR SCHOOL, a parent must accompany the child to the office when you arrive, sign your child in the Early Leavers/Late Arrival book and take a “Late Pass” for your child to hand to their teacher. Rolls are marked promptly at 9am. If the music has finished and your child is not yet in class, they have probably missed the roll.

If your child will be ABSENT FROM SCHOOL, we ask that you either:

  • Log onto Skoolbag and record the absence
  • Phone the school on 5426 1518 and leave a message on the absence voicemail; or
  • Send an email to the school’s email address; macedon.ps@education.vic.gov.au

If you need to take your child EARLY FROM SCHOOL we ask that you:

  • Call or email the office to advise what time you will be collecting your child so we can have them ready at the office.
  • come to the office to sign your child out.

Working With Children Checks

All parents, carers and other visitors to Macedon Primary require a current Working With Children’s Check to volunteer at the school. To apply for a volunteer WWCC you simply log on to

https://www.workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au/ (its free!)

If you have a current WWCC or VIT and have not advised the office, please bring your card into the office to have it photocopied or simply take a photo of the card and email it to the office at macedon.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Julie  and Emma

Student Achievement Awards

F/1TT - Chloe B - For an excellent effort at sounding out words.

F/1TT - Billy S - For terrific effort to write independently.

F/1MS - Kaley P - for her amazing independent writing.

1KH - Leni S - For awesome efforts in her Autumn writing.

1KH - Anja E - For a great use of descriptive words in her Autumn writing.

1KH - Flynn R - For being a wonderful helper.

1/2KB - Archer B-S - For great assistance with our visualising anchor chart.

1/2KB - Willow B-P- For being super focused in class.

2RG - Isaac C - For making a fantastic start at Macedon Primary School!

3VW - Patrick S - For listening to feedback to improve his graphs and data collection in maths.

3VW - Evie E - For fantastic participation in our Kidsmatter activity about emotions.

4CS - Grace H - For her super effort with her 'uniform' persuasive piece and always giving her best.

4CS - Niamh M - For always putting in 100% into everything she does! Keep it up!

3/4MS - Lukas Ball - for always extending himself with math's equations and problem solving. Well done Lukas!

3/4MS - Ruby W - for always following the school values and being a wonderful role model for all. Well done!

5/6SK - Scarlett B - For being an excellent classroom teacher.

5/6SK - Oscar P - For always showing confidence when working with his math's problems.

6AB - Stella M - For awesome writing during literacy, especially with her spelling.

6AB - Akira H - For excellence in her classwork and always looking after others.

Got Ya Awards

Xavier W- Hume- for following instructions.

Archer D- Mitchell- for being a great helper.

Phoenix W- Hume- for helping pack up sports equipment. 

Mother's Day Stall - 5th May

Anzac Day 2021

Thank you to the students and families who came down to Tony Clarke Oval on Anzac Day to sing the National Anthem before the football and netball matches. A special thanks to Shaun Evans from the Ranges Music Network for organising the singers and equipment. 

Outside School Hours Care

Our rates are: $15.00 for Before School Care (7:00am - 8:45am) and $22.00 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.

Ranges Music Network - Term 2 Update

The Ranges Music Network is back for Term 2 and looking forward to getting even more young musicians involved in making music.  If you are interested in joining one of our group lesson sessions please reach out to Shaun Evans at shaun@rangesmusic.net.

Did you know that we have a number of bands after school?  Join our Macedon Big Gig band on Wednesdays after school (all instruments & singers) plus the Big Bang Drum band on Thursdays (all ages and abilities).  Find out more at https://rangesmusic.net/mps

Community News

Gisborne Secondary Information evening - 5th May

Story Telling at Dromkeen - This Saturday

At our monthly Dromkeen storytime we have fabulous award winning Australian author Caz Goodwin coming to read her stories ‘Lazy Daisy’ and ‘Daisy Runs Wild’. They are lovely picture books about a hilarious and cheeky koala. There will be a surprise visit from a giant koala, stories, koala facts and jokes and a craft activity. This is a free activity and begins at 2.00pm in the Dromkeen Homestead Gallery.

Dromkeen is located at 1012 Kilmore Road Riddell’s Creek

bernadette@dromkeen.com.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.