Montville News - Term 1 ~ Week 4 ~2025 - Issue 26
Principal Update
Welcome to our first newsletter for 2025! I would like to extend a warm welcome back to all of our returning families and offer a special greeting to our new students and their families joining Montville State School for the first time. We are thrilled to have you as part of our school community!
It’s been wonderful to see our students arriving at school ready to learn and demonstrating positive behaviour. Their enthusiasm and respect for each other and the learning environment have been commendable.
I would particularly like to acknowledge our Year 6 students for the outstanding way they have stepped into their leadership roles this year. Their commitment to setting a positive example for the rest of the school has been inspiring—well done to each of you!
Starting a new school year takes a great deal of preparation, and I want to recognise the Montville State School staff for their dedication and hard work in ensuring a smooth, positive start. The time and effort they invest in supporting both the wellbeing and academic success of our students is truly appreciated.
This term, students in Years 3 and 5 will participate in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). The assessments will be held between the 12th and 18th of March. These tests provide valuable insights into students' strengths and areas for growth, allowing us to tailor our teaching practices to meet individual needs more effectively.
Upcoming Dates – Term 1
Prep Parent Meeting – Monday, 26th February, 2:30pm
Prep Vision Screening – Wednesday, 6th March
NAPLAN (Years 3 & 5) – 12th–18th March
Interhouse Cross Country – Monday, 17th March
Small Schools Volleyball – Friday, 28th March
Parent-Teacher Interviews – Tuesday, 25th March, 3:00–6:00pm
Small Schools Cross Country – Tuesday, 1st April
Final Day of Term 1 – Friday, 4th April
We encourage families to stay engaged and participate where possible. Our Parents and Citizens (P&C) association plays a vital role in supporting the school, and we invite all families to get involved. One way you can help is by volunteering in our tuckshop—your support makes a big difference!
We remain committed to fostering a positive, supportive environment for all students. This year, we will focus on building respectful relationships, developing resilience, and creating a safe, inclusive space where every student can thrive.
Finally, I want to emphasize the importance of open communication. We value feedback and encourage parents and caregivers to reach out with any questions or concerns. Together, we can ensure Montville State School continues to be a happy, safe, and productive place where every student receives a quality education and is supported to reach their full potential.
Thank you for your continued support—I’m looking forward to an exciting and productive term ahead!
Warm regards,
Iljas Memedovski
Principal, Montville State School
Late arrivals & Early Departures at school
It is a Education Queensland requirement that any student arriving late to school or leaving early is signed in or out through the office. If your child is getting to class after 9am they must sign in through the office. If they are leaving before the bell at 2.45pm they must be signed out through the office. Teachers cannot sign students in or out.
If students are being collected early, they must be signed out by a person listed as an emergency contact on their school profile unless the school has been notified in writing of a casual person who may be picking them up. This can be by email.
By prior arrangement students can be waiting in the office to be collected. Students are not permitted to wait at the butterfly to be collected early, we have a duty of care to primary school students to make sure they are collected by an authorised person.
If you have an appointment to get to please allow enough time to attend the office and sign students out.
We will do our best to make the process as quick as possible.
Thank you for your support with this very important safety policy.
Prep/1
Welcome to the 2025 school year. The preps and year 1's have started the year off with a flying start. We are super impressed on how the new Preps have transitioned into our school family.
The students have enjoyed working and learning about numbers, collecting data and investigating location and position during our math's learning.
During English we have been engaging in many imaginary texts where we have been sharing our ideas, personal connections and our likes and dislikes about the story. The year 1's have also been sharing their opinions about a character from the text. We have had some great daily Word Study Super Stars, two students are chosen each day who participate in our sessions. The year 1's have been lucky to have Mrs Bierton and Mrs Poingdestre work with them during these sessions. The preps have been working super hard in our Word Study sessions and gaining many new skills.
Science has had us looking at the sky and landscapes during night and day times, and in HASS we have been looking at different families and where they come from.
The kids have enjoyed engaging in PMP on Tuesday and Thursdays, they have done well with the transition between each activity and work well as a team.
Playtime at lunch break has been the most excitable event so far. The kids have loved playing in our new playground, the water pump is a hot favourite!!
We will be having a Parent Information Session on Wednesday 26 Feb, week 5 for the Prep/1 class. I will send out reminders via Class Do Jo and email leading up to this date.
Thank you to our parents that have been able to help out in our classroom. We love having parent helpers, if you would like to help out in our classroom come and see us and we will let you know a time to suit.
Miss Sheree and Mr Jake
Year 2/3
This year in 2-3 we have been heavily focused on hands on learning. In maths we have learned 3 games to help us with numbers to 100, including Race to 100, and Addition War.
In science, we explored the properties of materials, then came up with our own experiments to test whether different fabrics were suitable for a raincoat. We tested how waterproof the fabric was, lightness, flexibility, comfort and warmth. So far, not many of the fabrics we tested would have been suitable for a raincoat. We now know how to come up with an idea, formulate a test to find out if our idea works, analyse the results of our test and make a statement about our findings.
Year 3/4
In Math's this term, 3 / 4 have had a fantastic time learning and developing their mapping and grid referencing skills. Students have been developing these skills through exploring our oval and playground. Students were able to apply mathematical concepts like grid coordinates and mapping in real-world context. Table groups then collaborated to build a 3D map of the playground, encouraging teamwork, creativity, and problem solving. Students were very eager to participate and extremely motivated to create a realistic map of the playground.
Mrs Deans
Yr 5/6
Year 5/6 has had a fantastic start to the year, diving into exciting learning across all subjects! In English, students have been exploring narratives, developing their storytelling skills.
Year 6 has been working with Cartesian planes in Maths, while Year 5 have been learning about shape transformations. In Science, students are fascinated by the solar system, and in HASS, we have been learning about democracy and how decisions are made in our society. Alongside our studies, we are being creative with art projects and taking on fun class challenges and games. It’s been a great start, and we can’t wait for what’s next!
Miss Free
Learning Support News
Introducing PLD at Montville State School
In Semester 1, PLD (Promoting Literacy Development) will be introduced to Prep to Year 2 classes at Montville State School, with dedicated 30-minute daily teaching sessions. Years 3–6 will begin using PLD in Semester 2; however, all Year 3 students and some students in Years 4–6 will receive exposure through Literacy Learning Support.
A parent information session will be held soon, with the date to be confirmed. In the meantime, you can learn more by visiting the PLD website or using the links below.
PLD provides an Australian, evidence-based approach to Structured Synthetic Phonics (SSP) for primary school educators. Aligned with the Science of Reading, PLD’s SSP approach extends from the junior primary years through to upper primary years and thereby facilitating a whole school approach.
PLD’s method is derived from the disciplines of speech pathology, occupational therapy and education. As an Australian publisher and professional development provider, PLD advocates that literacy and learning outcomes are maximised for children when their Literacy, Oral Language and Movement & Motor skills are targeted.
Library
Book Club is Back for 2025; however I would like to apologise for the earlier inconvenience regarding the Loop orders; this issue has now been resolved.
Your participation in the Book Club significantly supports our library and provides students with the opportunity to enjoy the books they love. As a small school, we conduct one Book Club issue per term. We truly appreciate your continued support.
Thank you for being an integral part of our Book Club community.
I will be outside the computer lab every Friday morning from 8.15am to sign off on your child's home reader book. If your child does not have a home reader logbook please let me know, so I can organise one.
Don't forget at Assembly - it could be your name drawn out for the "Amazen gift voucher"!
Miss Kelly
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen & Garden
Dr Sophie has been busy preparing our gardens after the long spell of heat, rain and plenty of weeds!!
Thursday classes we welcome back into the garden depending on the weather of course. Our plan is for
Week 6 for classes Yr 3/4 at 10am and Yr 2/3 at 11.30am.
Week 6 it will be Yr P/1 at 10am and Yr 5/6 at 11.30am.
Friday cooking with Miss Agarta will also commence Week 6 with Yr 5/6 from 9am.
Volunteers are always appreciated at either Garden or cooking. Please check with your child's class teacher, your availability.
In 2024, Montville SS received a $5000 grant from Pick of the Crop, to help boost our SAKG program. Pick of the Crop is a program of Health and Wellbeing Qld (HWQ) supporting state primary schools. Pick of the crop schools provide opportunities for students to enjoy more fruits and vegetables. Visit the website for information about the program - plus recipes and tips for getting kids to eat healthy foods. www.hw.qld.gov.au/pick-of-the-crop/
Iljas, Alice and Sophie recently worked with Keith Gilbert (Pick of the Crop Regional Coordinator) to develop our Action Plan for 2025, which has been submitted to HWQ. Once approved, Montville SS will receive a further $2000 to spend on our gardens, healthy Breakfast Club options and visits from professional growers and producers to teach students about the benefits of fresh fruit and veggies.
Health & PE
Date Claimer: Montville School Cross Country will be held in Week 8 on Monday 17th March @ Russell Family Park, Montville.
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 which will be held on Tuesday 1st April at Mapleton SS.
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 17th 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 will be held here at Montville SS on Friday 28th March -
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
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.
Is your family eligible for free internet access?
Families with school-aged children who do not have current internet access at home, may be eligible for the School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI). To ensure all students have equal opportunity for online learning, the SSBI offers eligible families free nbn broadband access. For more information or to check your eligibility, call the National Referral Centre (Monday to Friday) 1800 954 610 or visit the SSBI website.
Religious Instruction
Welcome to those students enrolled in the Christian RI (Religious Instruction) program for 2025!
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 & Margot Stuart (my mum). My daughter Annie attends Montville and is in grade 5 this year.
If your child is already enrolled in RI there is no need to complete a new consent form. If your child is not enrolled in RI and you would like your child to participate, please complete the consent form available at the school office. Lessons are 30 minutes on Tuesday afternoons for students in grades 1-6.
The curriculum this year is engaging and fun – ‘Godspace’. The Montville Uniting Church have kindly donated the cost of the workbooks for the students. For any queries, please email me: nlindner@live.com.au
Montville is a wonderful school to teach in and we look forward to another great year!
Blessings,
Natalie & Margot
Parent Teacher Interviews
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 25 March 2025, from 3pm to 6pm. These interviews will occur in your child’s classroom.
Please utilise the link which will be sent out on 14th March 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 this interview session will close by 11.30am on 19th 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.