Mount Macedon Primary Newsletter

Thursday 6th April - School Assembly 1.30pm

Thursday 6th April - Last Day of Term 1 - 2.30pm finish time

Friday 7th April - Good Friday

Sunday 9th April - Easter Sunday

Monday 10th April - Easter Monday

TERM 2

Monday 24th April - Pupil Free Day

Tuesday 25th April - ANZAC Day Public Holiday

Wednesday 26th April - First Day of Term 2 for Students

Friday 28th April - District Cross Country

Wednesday 3rd May to Friday 5th May  - Forrest Edge Camp Grades 4,5,6.

Monday 8th May to Friday 12th May - Swimming Program, whole school.

Friday 12th May - Mother's Day high tea in the school hall

Wednesday 24th of May - District Soccer

Thursday 25th May - Division Cross Country

Friday 2nd June - District Netball 

Tuesday 4th April 2023

Hello Everyone,

What a busy few days we have all had. Last Friday, our Grades 4.5 and 6 students (along with 14 parent helpers and 4 staff) did the 26km Williamstown Bike Ride. We start in Essendon and ride along the Maribyrnong River to Footscray. We then head inland and ride under the Westgate Bridge and along a bike path that follows the bay into the Williamstown Botanic Gardens. The weather was beautiful, and the students were amazing. They rode so well. It is a long journey, and it was wonderful to see children pushing through to make it to the end. Thanks so much to all the parents who gave up their day to do the ride. From a safety aspect, we cannot do this ride without you. I hope that you got as much pleasure out of the day as we did!! Thanks also to Jess Probert and Joe Flynn who organised the day. What a team!

Yesterday we had our Cross Country event, which had to be rescheduled due to rain. Luckily the day was, once again, fantastic. We had plenty of parent helpers again (thank you all so much). Our younger students ran 2km and our older students ran 3km. Every student completed the course. From this event we select the team that will represent our school. District Cross Country is held in the first week of term 2. Once again, we have held these events close together to ensure that we make the most of the good weather.

Next term, in the first three weeks we will have grade 4,5,6 camp and school swimming. After that, as we move into the winter months, things will slow down. I understand that things feel very busy and that we are constantly asking you for money to cover all of the events. Please, please come and see me if you need any financial help.

I was in our Foundation/Grade1 and Grade 1/2 classrooms the other day. I am so proud of what they are achieving. I saw their writing, and every student is making good progress. Teaching in the younger grade lets you see enormous growth as they move from scribble writing to producing stories. It is such a joy to see this kind of learning.

Junior School Council has asked if we could make the last day of term (Thursday 6th April) a Crazy Hair Day. They would like children to bring a gold coin donation that will be given to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Next term I will be taking some long service leave and heading away for a while. I was scheduled to do this trip in 2020 but cancelled due to the pandemic. I will be gone for 5 weeks, starting from May 22nd. Joe Flynn will replace me as the Acting Principal. I will make sure that all the ‘paperwork' that I’m required to do for the term, is done before I go, so that Joe will only need to do day to day operations. This means that he will be able to stay in his classroom for at least half of each week and will be replaced by an emergency teacher at the other times. He will continue to do all the planning for the class. A principal being replaced by someone in the school is the preferred option of the Department of Education as the school continues to run much more smoothly. I find it really hard to leave the school (it is my happy place), and I will be in touch regularly, but I know that I’m leaving it in Joe’s very capable hands.

Don’t forget the Easter assembly this Thursday. You are all welcome to come along to watch the easter raffle draw. School finishes at 2.30pm Have a wonderful, restful break.

Trish

Hello everyone, 

On Friday the 31st of March the grades 4, 5 and 6s had the Williamstown Bike Ride. The students took a bus to Maribyrnong where they rode along the river into the city, under the West Gate bridge and all the way to Williamstown and back, all in all it was roughly a 26 km ride. Everyone rode very well, the students were obeying the road rules in a variety of different situations. Big thanks to the parents that came and to the teachers as well as Mr. Ewels and Mrs. Hyland. Without them we wouldn’t been able to do this bike ride.

The buddy sessions have been going really well this term, thanks to our buddy leaders Seraphina and Xanthe. They both organise activities on Fridays for the Foundations and the grade 6s. Some of the activities have been to go on a short walk to explore the changing colours of Autumn as well as creating fun little arts and crafts.

On Monday the 3rd of April the grades 3,4,5 and 6s did their cross country at Dixon Field. Everyone ran really well, congratulations to anyone that made it to district cross country. Thank you as well to all the parents that came to help.

Don’t forget that on the last day of school we are having a crazy hair day, come to school wearing a crazy hairdo! A gold coin donation will go to help the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

On the last day we will also be having our famous Easter raffle. There will be plenty of prizes to be won, so if you have not yet returned your raffle tickets you might want to get them in ASAP!

Happy Holidays!

Harriet

In Grade 1/2 our inquiry unit has been all about transport.  We have looked at different types of transport, how and why it is used, when it is used and how it can be safely used. 

We have had two guest speakers in our classroom.  Firstly we had Ryan, Jax’s dad come in to speak to us about his work with the Police Airwing helicopters and then we had Hendrix’s dad, Daniel, come in a talk to us about motorbikes and how we can be safe when riding on them.  Here is some of our writing about what we learnt with some interesting facts.  Thank you to both of our guest speakers for coming in. 

This week, the students have been very busy with some Easter themed art. The Foundation and Grade 1 students have been creating some very colourful Easter wreaths, experimenting with 4 different mediums to achieve the end result. They coloured their Easter wreaths with watercolour paint, watercolour pencils, chalk paints and chalk pastels. The Grade 2/3's did a fabulous job of painting their egg shaped pendants, and the Grade 5/6's  sewed their own mini egg pouches together. Have a look at their vibrant creations below.

One of our very talented students Billy H from Grade 3 was lucky enough to be chosen as an honorary special guest player in the IBA - Boys Baseball Tournament for U/14's in Melbourne over the last week. Billy usually plays for the Essendon Diamond Backs, but last week played for the IBA - Boys Australia team who will be going to Japan to compete in another major tournament. There were 4 teams in the tournament, IBA Australia team, Japan, Waverly Bushrangers and Essendon Diamond Backs. It was quite a special event, as it was the first time the tournament was being held in 4 years. Well done Billy, what an honour it is to have been chosen to play in with this special team, what a proud moment!

Last Wednesday we had some very cute little visitors at the school in the afternoon. A couple of Geese had wandered up from a neighbors property and had a little stop-over in front of our school office! They were quite happy waddling around our grounds, but we had to keep them safe and find their owners. As you can imagine it was quite the kerfuffle trying to round them up and get them to go home! Below is photo of our Principal of many talents helping to send them on their way. Not sure we have room for students of the feathered kind! 

Aaron Moar has been teaching guitar students at Mount Macedon Primary School for the last 8 years. He is keen to meet some new students who are interested in learning how to play, and continue working with current students for 2023. Aaron is a qualified teacher and has been teaching guitar for over 15 years. He conducts group lessons at the school, and teaches students of all levels and classes. His lessons are fun and interactive, where the students learn to play both modern and traditional tunes to practise their skills and technique. If you would like to enquire about guitar lessons for your child, please contact Aaron on 0438 177 764 or email: aaronmoar@infinitesound.com.au or see flyer below.

The Ranges Music Network is very excited to be bigger and better at Mount Macedon Primary this year!  We have some exciting term-based performance and project activities planned in addition to our Group and Individual programs.

We'd also like 2023 to be the year of the bands -- with Classic Rock Band and Drum Squad taking the stage from 3:40-4:20pm after school each Wednesday.  If you are interested in learning an instrument while playing in the band or building on the technique and musicality you're developing in your group and individual lesson we'd love to have you.

Visit https://rangesmusic.net/mmps/ to learn more and get started.  

Join in the fun of the 2023 Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival. There is a great range of free events and activities for families to enjoy, plus some fantastic competitions and give-aways, including a Kids’ Colouring-In Competition with a chance to win one of two family prize packs, each valued at $175. Find out more at www.visitmacedonranges.com/autumn-festival/

Our Shire’s national award winning Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival opens on 1 April, and there is a great range of events and activities on offer for the community to enjoy. 

Colouring Competition 

To get everyone into the autumn spirit, we’re running a Kid’s Colouring-In Competition with some fantastic prizes to be won. There are also several other competitions, give-aways and free events that families can participate in.  

More information is available here, including links to download the colouring-in sheets.

First Nations Cultural Heritage Events

Celebrate the opening of the Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival by attending one of the three unique First Nations Cultural Heritage events held on the opening weekend of this year’s Autumn Festival on Saturday 1st April and Sunday 2nd April. 

Those attending will experience a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony and learn more about First Nations history and culture in the context of our beautiful region. Visit https://www.visitmacedonranges.com/autumn-festival/whats-on/ for more information.

Enter Council’s art competition and help the environment

Council is inviting all school-aged and preschool-aged children to enter a competition aimed at helping raise awareness of the impact of single-use plastics on the environment. Participants are being asked to create their own unique artwork using upcycled, recycled or single-use plastic collected as litter, with examples including snack wrappers, coffee cups, straws, cotton buds, polystyrene and bread bag tags.

·         Winners will have their artwork displayed in the art exhibit at the Hanging Rock Reserve Discovery Centre and will also take home a worm farm or compost bin made from recycled plastic. The early learning centre or school from which the winners are from, will win a delivery of organic compost for their gardens. 

The competition closes 6 April. For information, visit mrsc.vic.gov.au/singleuseplasticscomp

Term 1 - Tuesday 31st January to Thursday 6th April

Term 2 - Monday 24th April to Friday 23rd June

Term 3 - Monday 10th July to Friday 15th September

Term 4 - Monday 2nd October to Wednesday 20th December