Montville Views Issue 3 Week 5 Term 1 2023
From the Desk of the Principal
Welcome to another fortnight at Montville State School where we encourage our students to Care for Themselves, Others and the Environment.
This year we are putting a lot of resources into supporting our class teachers to ensure all of our students are included, engaged and learning and I have been thrilled with the way our students have begun the 2023 school year .
The staff do an amazing job working together to provide support to our students. I just wanted to take the opportunity to outline what we have in place this year .
Our class teachers are constantly differentiating in the classrooms to ensure the children are supported to learn every day. Each teacher is given a weekly allocation of teacher aide time to assist in the classroom and a class budget to purchase resources for the students in their class.
Nicole Bierton is our Inclusion Teacher (Tuesday -Friday) and is her role is to making sure plans are in place to support students that may be struggling as well as providing opportunities for extension for our more capable students. Nicole also will assist the classroom teachers in the classrooms as well as plan intervention programs to deliver / be delivered by the teacher aides.
Nicole is supported by Sandi Smith who fills the role of Deputy of Inclusion and works across 4 schools - Chevallum, Eudlo, Glenview and Montville. Sandi is here every 2nd Thursday and provides staff professional development, advice on complex cases and ensures we are maximising the resources that are available to us from the North Coast Region and Education Queensland.
Tracey Axelson is our Guidance officer and works across 3 schools - Currimundi, Kuluin and Montville. Traceys role is to assist with case management of individual students, provide professional development to staff as well as administer tests and provide advice to parents and staff as to how best support that student. Tracey is here at Mointville every 2nd Wednesday.
Miriam Porchun is our school based psychologist and is here every Thursday morning. Miriam works with a very small number of students over a period of time in a 1:1 settingthat have been referred by their class teacher.
Every Thursday and Friday, Rebecca Finn our Welfare worker is here to support our students. Rebecca provides whole class, small group and individual sessions to students to assist them engage positively with school.
On top of all this we have commited an additional $52 000 this year to provide additional teacher aides in classrooms supporting students. We are very fortunate to have our experienced and dedicated teacher aides in our classrooms.
As you can see, there is a significant amount of support here at Montville to support every student. Please remember to speak to your child's classroom teacher as soon as you have any concerns or questions and they can assist or put ypou in touch with the appropriate staff member.
The education of a child is a a partnership between school and home. Here at Montville, all staff are understanding of individual parents preferences and circumstances however when it comes to Home Reading we insist that we need your support to ensure that your child is engaging in some form of home reading (reading aloud, silent reading, being read to etc) each night for just a short period of time (even 10 minutes is enough)
Home reading is an essential activity for primary school students, as it provides a range of benefits that can improve their academic and personal development such as -
- helps children to develop critical literacy skills that are essential for success in school and beyond. This, in turn, helps children to become more confident and competent readers, which can have a positive impact on their overall academic performance.
- can improve children's overall academic performance. Research has shown that children who read at home regularly tend to perform better in school, particularly in areas such as writing, spelling, and vocabulary. Reading at home also provides children with exposure to a range of different texts and genres, which can help to broaden their knowledge and understanding of the world around them.
- fostering a lifelong love for reading, which is a valuable and rewarding skill to have. Children who read at home regularly are more likely to develop a love for reading, which can have a positive impact on their personal development. Reading can help to improve children's creativity, imagination, and empathy, as well as their ability to think critically and independently. It can also provide children with a sense of relaxation and escape, which can be beneficial for their mental health and wellbeing.
By encouraging your child to read at home or spending time reading to them, can help to set them on the path towards a successful academic and personal future.
By now all students should have a reading log that gets signed each night or at the end of the week that they can show a staff member each Friday morning outside the computer lab.
How can you help?
- Encourage your child to borrow books from the school library or bring books from home.
- Ensure your child has a communication folder.
- Facilitating some time each day for your child to partake in some form of reading for 10 mins each night.
Thank you very much for your support with this.
Regards,
Adam
Montville Markets Update
School Newsletter Update – 23rd Feb
Montville Markets Update – February
This month we had blue skies and a beautiful breeze, a gentle flow of hungry and appreciative BBQ punters, the dulcet sounds of Leo busking, interesting new vendors and bubbles of laughter drifting from the grass surrounding the new “Finders Keepers” second hand toy stall hosted by Nakota, Rafael and Rex. It was rather special.
The markets were originally established by a group of MSS families who are delighted by our growing involvement each month.
The “Finders Keepers” stall is a new concept allowing students to sell second hand toys, books and clothes and pocket their earnings.
Our school musicians have access to the first busking time slot of the day – 7.30 – 8.30am and again are able to keep the rewards of the efforts.
A need has been identified for condiments – jams, marmalade, chutney, sauces – and seedlings/plants. If this is your “thing” please let us know.
All of this could not be possible without our amazing volunteers with special thanks going this month to Jason, Luke, Keersten, Jaqui, Simon, Kirstyn, Emma, Angie, Gareth, Matilde, Leo, Oliver, Nakota, Rafael and Rex.
We would love for more of our families to become involved so if you’d like to learn more please contact the school or Kate McNicholl (Rex & Raf’s mum).
Market Fun
Student Review - BONZA Airlines
Montville Families Have A Bonza Time
By Benji Truscott
Bonza is a new airline based on the Sunshine Coast, it has flights going to Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville, Cairns and many other wonderful places in Queensland.
Bonza kindly offered to fly Montville State School families to Mackay. Last Saturday, Montville families piled into their cars to go for a free flight with Bonza to Mackay and back.
This flight was an amazing opportunity for many kids and families. It would have also been beneficial to help get rid of some flight fear for the kids going on the Canberra trip in Term Three, that have never been on a flight.
I personally enjoyed the flight because the staff were really friendly, the snacks were delicious and all Aussie made. They also, via their app, offer games to play during your flight.
Some of us were lucky enough to meet one of the wonderful pilots, overall it was a positive experience.
A special thanks to Heather Mollins, Head of Communications for Bonza, for organising this wonderful flight.
Welcome Miriam
Hi everyone!
Some of you might have seen me walk around the premises a couple of times this semester and I’m writing this little snippet to introduce myself properly. I’m extremely pleased to have gained the wonderful opportunity to work at Montville State School as your new school psychologist! I will be on the premises on Thursday mornings, and if your student wishes to come and have a chat with me, please speak to our fantastic principal, Adam Montgomery - as a referral for an appointment with me is assessed and made through Adam, in the first instance.
I tend to operate from a validating, skill based, holistic perspective and work with you to build skills to manage your mental health and increase your daily wellbeing. Mental health does not discriminate and at times in our lives we all may find ourselves in need of some assistance in this space.
On a slightly more personal note, I live up here on the range with my husband and two children and moved here from the outback in 2016. I love to swim, read, and consider myself a bit of a casual gamer.
Warm Regards,
Miriam Porchun
School Psychologist
Prep Update
Prep
We have had a lovely 2 weeks in the Prep room. Mrs D our Preservice teacher is now here 4 days a week. We are very excited to Mrs D in our room.
Photos
Year 1 Update
The year 1 children have been retelling stories during English, they have been working really hard and their retells have been amazing.
We have also been participating in PMP (positional language, forward, back) and Friday afternoon sport with the year 6 leaders.
During maths we have been working on location and number lines and money.
We are looking forward to our first kitchen session this Friday!
Photos
Year 2 Update
In year 2 we have been loving working with our lovely parent volunteers and Teacher Aids, who have been helping with our mathematic and literacy groups. We want to thank you for your help and support with this. We love having parent helpers and are very thankful to have such wonderfully tallented teacher aids at Montville State School.
We are also thankful for the gorgeous school groups and facilities we have. Not only do we have classrooms to learn in, we also have some amazing outside learning areas.
The year two students had their first Kitchen Garden for 2023. Thank you to Miss Agarta who put together such a delicious menu for us to eat.
Photos
Year 3/4 Update
Class news from 3/4
Our class has welcomed two new students to Montville State School this term. Feeling grateful, both boys have communicated how friendly everyone has been and have been enjoying their breaks playing cricket on the oval with their new friends.
During Math groups we are very lucky to have some wonderful people assisting us in our learning. Miss Phoenix has been working on fractions and whole numbers including place value with the grade 4 students. We have also welcomed Raf’s dad Gareth, to our math group time on Wednesdays. (Sorry I didn’t get a photo)
Mrs Barker has been challenging the students to place value bingo and she assures me that the students are hard to beat.
Photos
Year 5/6 Update
We have had a super busy fortnight. We were very fortunate a teacher from USC visited and did a 3-day workshop on coding.
In Science we tested the effects of meteorites hitting the earth.
Many of us also enjoyed a day trip to Mackay thanks to BONZA Airlines!
Photos
LOTE
P&C News
Tuckshop - If your child is away and you have ordered from the tuckshop please cancel your order before 8.30am. Orders cancelled after that cannot be held over or refunded.
Our wonderful P&C are hosting Starry Nights again this year. Monies raised will help cover the cost of the buses to Maranatha Camp this year. Please support your P&C by purchasing tickets through the link below.
Community Announcements
