Macedon Primary School Newsletter

12 May 2021

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

Principal's Report

Dear Parents and Carers,

Maths Olympiad

A select number of our year five and six students are involved in a fortnightly Maths Olympiad lesson across five schools in the Macedon Ranges.  Seraphim Kyprianou, our learning specialist, is hosting Hesket PS, Mount Macedon PS, Romsey PS, Riddells Creek PS and Macedon PS students in WebEx lessons focused on developing high level problem solving skills in Mathematics.  The students have met three times and have enjoyed getting to know one another and supporting each other to develop their problem solving skills.  The principals from these schools are using this as a pilot project to explore how to improve the teaching of problem solving in all of our schools.  I am fortunate to work with such passionate and focused principals and I am really enjoying listening to the feedback from the students in this program.

Student leaders

I met with our student leaders last week to discuss some changes we would like to make to our school grounds to represent our respect for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as a part of our inquiry project this term.  The student leaders identified that the flag poles at the front of the school, being at different heights, was something that they wanted to improve to better represent our respect for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.  I look forward to working with the students to help them realise their vision for this area of our playground.

DET Maintenance Program

As a part of our maintenance facilities management we have recently received an additional $10 000 from the Department of Education to address maintenance concerns that were identified through a facilities audit conducted by the Department of Education.  The funding has been tagged to specific high priority roof works that need completing.  These works make up a part of an ongoing facilities maintenance and improvement plan developed by myself and the facilities committee.

Library Learning Hub – LLH update

The tender process for selecting an architect and project manager for the Library Learning Hub construction opened yesterday with the expectation the construction will begin by September this year.  We are looking forward to this project being completed so our students can make the most of the new facility.

Foundation (Prep) Enrolments

I have been conducting regular private tours of the school for prospective parents.  There has been a high level of interest in the school for this early part of the year.  If you have young children who are set to start here in 2022 I encourage you to hand in your enrolment forms to the front office.  You may also know people or have friends in the area with primary aged children in 2022, please encourage them to call the office and book a tour. You can pick up an enrolment form at the office or find them on our website with some additional information here.

Matt Forrest

Principal

Latest Department of Education advice on COVID19

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


Important Dates

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

28 May - Interschool soccer, selected students.

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

Yr 6 to Yr 7 Transition forms - due Friday 14th May


From the Office

Enrolments for 2021

We are now accepting new enrolments for foundation students in 2022. If you have a child or know someone with a child that is wanting to enrol at Macedon Primary next year, please return your forms to the office. A link to the form is available here 2022 Enrolment Form

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

Dressing for Macedon Winter

Now that the cooler weather is upon us, we remind families to dress their children accordingly. Please also put some spare clothing (particularly socks) in your child's bag as the school grounds can be a little wet and muddy in the cooler months.  A warm jacket, beanie are also a good idea as we do try to get outside as much as we can for recess and lunchtime play. 

Lost Property

We have a pile of lost property (some still from grade 1/2 camp). Parents are allowed to enter the school buildings now, so if you would like to come and take a look the lost property is located near the toilets.

Student Achievement Awards

These awards will be handed out at our Friday afternoon assembly. Our assembly takes place in the JCB (John Curtin Building) from 3:00pm on Friday afternoons. We are now able to welcome parents and carers to attend.

F/1TT - Blake D - for a terrific effort with his learning.

F/1TT - Ava K - for fantastic effort to write independently.

F/1MS - Piper E - for her fantastic independent writing.

F/1MS - Isaac M - for sounding out unfamiliar words when reading.

1/2KB -  - Mitchell S - for the fantastic progress he has made in maths.

1/2KB -  Raph B - for developing his editing skills in writing.

3VW - Paige B - for fabulous narrative writing.

3VW - Bree M - for sharing her science activity book

3/4MS - Harrison C - for his positive attitude and happy personality displayed everyday in class.

3/4MS -  Duncan Mc - for always displaying a positive attitude and work ethic.

3/4MS - Ruby W - for always putting effort into her work. Well done!

4/5BT - Lenny M - for being a kind and hard working student.

4/5BT - Charlotte W - for trying her best in all learning activities.

4/5BT - Spencer R - for being a helpful class member.

5/6SK - Oscar P - for being a great learner and focused in class.

6AB - Annabel E - for being an amazing leader showing great organisation and skill.

5/6SK - Mali R - for continuous diligence with her work in class.

6AB - Reuben B - for approaching his learning with excitement and enthusiasm.

6AB - Cohen B - for exceptional leadership with whole school matters and class learning.

1/2 KB's hopes for this term

My hope is to do my best work and do my best at reading. My hope is to have fun in the classroom and do well. My hope is to get my work done good.

Bailie H

I hope that everyone, especially the preps will enjoy school this term and enjoy coming to school. I hope to make new friends and enjoy school too. I hope to feel welcome at school and feel safe at school.

Willow

I hope that everyone feels like they are at home and all our class feel happy at school. I hope that my brother feels safe.

Ruby

 I hope that everybody comes to school and knows that they will be heard. The classroom can be fun but sensible and I hope to make sensible choices.

Lullaby

My hope is that everyone around me can have fun and make the right choices and be kind to animals, plants and people. People should put their rubbish and wrappers in the bin and care for the environment. I hope new people to the school can have fun.

Raph

My hope is that I get to make more friends. I hope that I get better with my Maths. I hope that my friends are alright when I have gone camping.

Myles

I hope that everyone here feels welcome and safe. I hope that people make new friends. I hope that my sister feels like school is just like home.

Edith

I hope that the preps have a good time at school. I hope my friends have good times. I hope that I can be brave and put my hand up.

Isla

I hope that everyone is OK for the rest of the year. I hope that my teacher will always be my teacher. I hope that my friends will always remember me.

Ted D

I hope that I do my best. I hope I do good in spelling tests and also get better at writing. I hope I get more friends and hope that people feel welcome in our classroom.

Aahil

Interschool Football report

It was a calm, overcast morning as we set off to Gisborne for the Macedon Ranges district AFL competition. The girls played at Dixon Field and the boys played at Sankey Reserve. Both teams were very excited to get out on the field for some footy.

The boys team played Braemar, Riddells Creek and Gisborne primary schools. In each match the boys fought hard and put in a great effort, but unfortunately, we were beaten in all 3 games. We were very well led by co-captains Charlie H and Henry B. A big thanks to Aidan and Angus from Mt Macedon PS who came down to play with us as well. The boys all enjoyed the day and represented the school very well.

The girls team played their round robin at Dixon Field. We had a great day and tried our best. We didn't win any games throughout the day, but we all had fun. Mali was the only person to kick a goal for the Macedon team. For the longest kick competition Henry and Sarah competed for Macedon. They both did so well, Sarah came 5th and Henry came 3rd. We had a great day and thank you to Mr O, Mrs Taylor and everyone else who came to help out. Mali

Scholastic Book Club - Term 2

Orders for issue 3 are now closed, we will distribute the books and gifts when they arrive. Thank you for your support.

Outside School Hours Care

We are currently booked out on Monday afternoons, if you are looking for casual care please contact Vicki or the office to confirm there is a space available.

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.

Community News

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.