Montville News Week 8 Term 1 2024 - Issue 19
From The Desk of the Principal
Welcome to a very exciting edition of our newsletter. I am thrilled to say that work is underway to begin the redevelopment of our new outdoor play and learning area. This project has been 2 years in the making and is the result of a lot of work by many people. We have utilised a Community Gambling Benefit Grant of $100 000 that was obtained by our P&C in 2022 to apply for an Education Queensland School Subsidy Scheme grant worth over $450 000. It is anticipated that the project will be completed by June 30.
Fair Play Vouchers
Please be aware that Carly our Student Welfare Worker is a referral agent on behalf of the school for the Fair Play voucher program where children can receive a $150 voucher each calendar year to put towards the cost of registering for organised sport. There are many organisations on the Sunshine Coast that accept these. Click on the link to search for your local sporting clubs.
We understand that this cost can be prohibitive for many families so please contact myself or Carly celli355@eq.edu.au if you require some for your child/children.
Years 3-6 Cultural Camp to Brisbane
Please see attached Activity Consent form for the upcoming camp in May. Please complete last page and return to office, if you haven't already done so.
Parent/Teacher Interviews
Just a reminder that an email was sent out last week in regards to our timetabled Parent-Teacher interviews which are offered in Week 9 of school in Term 1 and Term 3. Our students are issued with their written report cards at the end of Term 2 and Term 4.
Our Term 1 Parent-Teacher interviews will be conducted on Tuesday 19th March 2024, from 12pm to 6pm. These interviews will occur in your child’s classroom.
Please utilise the link below to select a timeslot which best suits your family’s needs. The interview timeslots are 15 minutes each, so please be on time and observe the allocated time as there will be other parents and carers scheduled before and after your visit.
Bookings for these interview session will close by 11.30am on Monday 18th March to enable adequate preparation time for the teachers.
I encourage all parents and carers to take advantage of this opportunity to discuss your child’s learning development and social-emotional growth.
Link: https://montvillestates.schoolzineplus.com/view-session/5
Yesterday we held the Montville State School P&C Annual General Meeting and I am very pleased to announce our new executive committee-
President: Emma Secomb (Oscar in 3/4 class)
Vice-President: Kirstyn O’Rourke (Charles in 5/6 class)
Secretary: Lisa Cheswas (Mac in P/1 class)
Treasurer : James Donaldson (Arlo 2/3 class & Rufus P/1 class)
I want to sincerely thank the outgoing executive of 2023 for all of their hard work and am looking forward to a positive and productive 2024 school year. At the meeting we decided we are going to trial a general meeting on Friday of week 1 (April 19) next term straight after assembly. Our goal is to have as many parents attend and make the meeting as short and productive as possible -we hope to see you there!
Thank you all for your ongoing support.
Thanks
Adam
Regular Student Attendance
Did you know? Research shows that in Queensland, higher student attendance at school is associated, on average, with higher student achievement.
Why is regular attendance at school important?
Regular school attendance will mean that your child gets a better chance at life. Your child will achieve
better when they go to school all day, every school day:
• they learn better
• they make friends
• they are happier
• they have a brighter future.
Why must I send my child to school?
Under Queensland law, you must make sure your child of school age is enrolled and attends school all
day, every school day unless they have a reasonable excuse. Illness, doing work experience, competing
in a school sporting event or going on a school excursion are reasonable excuses for being absent
from school.
Principals decide if the excuse given for your child’s absence is reasonable.
Avoid keeping your child away from school for birthdays, shopping, visiting family and friends, if
they sleep in, looking after other children, minor check ups or care such as hair cuts.
Routine medical or other health appointments should be made either before or after school or
during the school holidays.
What should I do if our family is going on a holiday in school time?
You are encouraged not to schedule holidays during school time. If your family holiday is during school
time, let the school know in advance and talk about what arrangements can be made for your child.
Depending on the circumstances the school may be able to provide tasks for your child to complete
while they are absent or assist you to organise an exemption from schooling.
Do I need to let the school know if my child has been away from school?
Yes. You must let the school know the reason why your child is absent from school – either beforehand,
on the day of the absence, or as soon as practicable after your child’s return to school
High School Transition Information
Prep/1
Welcome to the Prep/Yr1 classroom.
The Prep/1 class have been very busy. We have been looking at a wide range of texts. Everyone has had a great time sharing their ideas and participating in fun activities to connect to the story and characters.
During maths we have been guiding friends to a special item using directional words. Data collection has been a hit this week. Gathering data from our class is interesting and the kids are enjoying asking questions to gather their data.
Our classroom farm is going well, this week kids had to maintain the fast-growing grass.
The end of term is fast approaching; we have a mountain of things to get done. The kids will love the fun activities leading up to Easter.
Thank you to our parents/carers who have been helping in our classroom. We know your time is valuable, and we appreciate your support.
Miss Sheree and Mr Jake
Year 2/3
Wow! We are almost at the end of Term 1! It has certainly gone by quickly.
Our 2/3 team enjoyed our first gardening lesson of the year last week. Although, it was very warm, we did not let the heat beat us and were happy to enjoy harvesting and planting. We are very excited to participate for our turn in the Kitchen this week!
Narrative story writing has been our focus in English and there have been some fantastic, interesting stories written. We have also been enjoying playing our morning game of ‘Know Your Story!’ to help us practice our story retells and discuss our preferences about characters and books.
Our Monday TRACK talk time provides us with time to remember our values and continue to build and grow our connections in our class and school.
I am so proud of our amazing 2/3 team! Thanks for an awesome term!
Many Thanks, Mrs McKinnon
Year 3/4
Year 3/4 had our first cooking session in the kitchen with the brilliant Miss Agarta. I want to say a huge thank you to the many parent helpers who came too. It was great to see everyone on Friday afternoon sample the little tasters we made that morning. We made some crowd favourites like Three Cheese Muffins and Jam Drops, along with some experimental recipes like Potato Cakes.
The students have also been working hard writing, typing and editing stories. This is them working towards a final adaption of a familiar story they know.
Looking forward to catching up with families for the up coming parent/teacher sessions.
From Miss Baker
Year 5/6 Update
The 5/6s have had another great few weeks we have been in the garden and kitchen enjoying the new projects.
We are part way through our English assessments and we are excited to share them with our families in the coming weeks.
Next week Living Australia will be visiting for a full day of exploring Australian history which ties to both our English and HASS unit.
From Miss Emily
Health and PE
Cross Country
Date Claimer: Montville School Cross Country will be held in Week 9 on Monday 18th March.
As a lead up we will be starting running club which will be held on the school oval every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 8.15am to 8.35am. Students will have their laps counted to go towards their sporting house. This will be supervised by a staff member so please wait under A block and a staff member will take you down to the oval. You can walk/run/skip - come down and enjoy with your friends. Parents welcome.
Students are encouraged to participate as part of the HPE/Sport program and eligible senior students will be selected to participate in the Small Schools Cross Country.
Students will wear their sport house shirts, fully enclosed footwear and sun safe hats. It is also recommended that students wear sunscreen and bring a water bottle.
All families are welcome to attend to cheer on the students, please see the tentative timetable below.
Monday 18th March
Students will come to school by 8.45 for Roll Marking
8.50 - Whole school walks to Russell Family Park
9.15 - Race 1, Prep and Year 1 500M
9.25 - Race 2, Years 2 and Year 3 students born 2015 - 1000M
9.40 - Race 3, Students born 2014 - 2000M
10.00 - Race 4, Students born 2012/ 2013 - 2000M
10.30 - Pack up and walk back to school
We look forward to seeing you there!
Small Schools Volleyball
On Friday the 22nd of March 2024, Montville State School will again be hosting the inter-school volleyball day. All students in grades 3-6 will participate in fun social volleyball against other small schools in our area. We have modified rules for ability levels to allow for fun social games.
Activity details:
- All students will travel to school as normal and attend their class
- Cost – FREE
- Teams will consist of approximately 10 students (8 on the field at a time with 2 x substitutes)
- Mixed teams will compete in separate competitions for Year 3/4 and Year 5/6
- Students will wear their full school uniform, closed in shoes and broad brimmed hat on the day
- Please apply sunscreen and bring water bottle
- Students will be able to purchase from the tuckshop as per menu
The competition starts at approximately 10:00am and finish at approximately 1:45pm (draw dependent).
We look forward to all students participating in this fun inter-school sports day, that provides students with the ability to socialise and connect with students from other schools.
Book Club
Book Club provides families with an affordable and convenient way to access the best in children's literature to encourage leisure reading. Book Club brings the magic of reading to families by
- curating the catalogue in age-appropriate sections with a huge variety of excellent quality, affordable books.
- providing regular access to books for the home via your school to build good reading habits.
- contributing learning and literacy resources back to schools.
15% of every purchase on Book Club goes back to your school in Scholastic Rewards to buy valuable educational resources that benefit your child. See below photo of books purchased through these rewards from Term 1.
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden
Garden classes have started for 2024! The garden went a bit wild over the summer so we got stuck right in. Lots of weeding, mulching, planting and harvesting. We harvested two big buckets of sweet potatoes (several kilograms), ginger and spring onions. We will use the basil to make pesto!
2/3 - Receipes from Kitchen Garden Cooking
Fluffy Japanese Pancakes Under 30 minutes
Ingredients for 4 servings
- 2 egg yolks
- ¼ cup sugar(50 g)
- ½ cup milk(120 mL)
- ¾ cup pancake mix(95 g)
- 4 egg whites
- butter, to serve
- syrup, to serve
- 1 cup assorted berry(175 g), to serve
Preparation
- Mix together the egg yolks, sugar, milk, and pancake mix in a very large bowl until it is smooth with no large lumps.
- In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form when lifted.
- Carefully fold the egg whites into the pancake batter, until just incorporated, making sure not to deflate the batter.
- Grease two 3.5-inch (9 cm) metal ring moulds and set them in the middle of a pan over the lowest heat possible.
- Fill the moulds about ¾ of the way full with the batter, then cover the pan and cook for about 10 minutes, until the center of the pancakes are slightly jiggly.
- Release the pancakes from the bottom of the pan with a spatula, then carefully flip them over, making sure not to spill any batter inside.
- Cover and cook for another 5 minutes, then serve with butter, syrup, and berries!
- Enjoy!
Berry and Yogurt Muffins (25mins - makes 6)
Ingredients
Preparation
1.Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Grease a six-hole (¾-cup/180ml) texas muffin pan.
2.Sift flour into medium bowl. Stir in oats, eggs, sugar, yoghurt and oil, then berries. Do not over-mix.
3.Spoon mixture into pan holes. Bake muffins about 25 minutes.
Stand muffins in pan 5 minutes; turn, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.
School Watch
We love our school and want to come back after the holidays knowing that our school is safe and ready for learning.
The School Watch program is a partnership between Education Qld, the Qld Police Service and State Government Protective Security Service. It aims to reduce criminal activity in Qld Schools and encourages everyone to look out for after hours crime in our schools. If you see anything suspicous, plese don't attempt to inverene.
Call the School Watch number - 13 17 88
Lets work together to help create safer school communities.
LOTE
みなさん、こんにちは!
It is a pleasure to be teaching your children Japanese at Montville!
Understanding culture is an important part of the study of any language. As well as enthusiastically diving into Japanese language learning in Term 1, Montville students have been learning about some Japanese festivals, that take place in January- March. 2024 is the year of the dragon in the Japanese 12 year zodiac. Prep- Year 4 students heard the story of the Japanese animal zodiac. Year 5/6 students participated in New Year activities by completing anえま which is a traditional board people write their wishes on for the coming year.
During February and March in Japan there are a number of festivals includingゆきまつり and ひなまつり. Prep to Year 4 students created their own ‘snow sculptures’ to celebrate the ゆきまつり. Prep and Year 1 students also created paper crowns to celebrate the Doll’s Festival.
Phrases for this newsletter:
みなさん、こんにちは Hello, Everyone!
えま (ema) wooden board used for wishes
ゆきまつり (yukimatsuri) Snow Festival
ひなまつり(Hinamatsuri-Dolls Festival
Religious Instruction
Welcome to the Christian RI (Religious Instruction) program for 2024!
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the team. My name is Natalie Lindner and I am the RI Coordinator/Teacher and the team this year will be myself and Margot Stuart (grades 2-6) and Dianne Johnstone (Grade 1).
In conjunction with Education Qld and the all primary schools across the state, new information brochures have been distributed in an effort to give parents informed choices and consent about the RI program in the school. If your child is already enrolled in RI there is no need to complete the consent form. If your child is not enrolled in RI and you would like your child to participate, simply pick up a brochure from the office, complete the consent form and hand it back to the school office.
In Christian RI this year this year the curriculum being used is called Godspace. For a full scope of lesson outlines, or to address any concerns, please feel free to book and appointment with me through the admin office. I am available at school every Monday afternoon or via email: nlindner@live.com.au
Montville is a wonderful school to teach in and we look forward to another great year of RI!
P&C News
Small Schools Volleyball Catering
Please find our canteen menu for our upcoming volleyball carnival on Friday 22 March attached.
There will be cash sales on the day however our preferred method is to pre-order through the Flexischools app. Orders through Flexischools can be picked up in the express line on the day and fresh items are guaranteed. All students in Years 3-6 will be participating and parents are very welcome to come along and support.
Tanya and Emma are coordinating and are asking for donations of baked goods to sell on the day. Slips will come home next week for you to fill out and send in if you can help with this.
Sunshine Coast Public Health Unit Update
Pertussis (Whooping Cough) increase in the Sunshine Coast Region. Please read the attached letter and Fact sheet.