Mary Queen of Heaven Newsletter Term 3 – Week 2

Friday 26th July- Grandparents Day 

Class Assemblies (see school calendar)

Monday 12th August – School Closure Day 

Thursday 22nd August – School Feast Day: Queenship of Mary Mass and Concert

Friday 30th August – Father’s Day Morning Tea & classroom visits

Saturday 31st August – Confirmation

Friday 6th September- Colour Run

Thursday 12th September – R U OK? Day wear a splash of yellow

Thursday 19th & Friday 20th Parent Teacher Interviews

In our commitment to ongoing staff development and enrichment, Dani our Deputy Principal and Loretta our Learning Diversity Leader will be taking part in a pilgrimage from 19-23 August  ‘Missionary Spirit in Catholic Education – A journey with St Mary of the Cross Mackillop.  Facilitated by the Mary MacKillop Heritage Centre and MACS, and taking in key sites in Portland, Penola and Adelaide, the five-day pilgrimage will explore Mary’s extraordinary contribution to Catholic education in Australia and her inspirational, faith-filled life.  

In our foundational year, and since, both Dani and Loretta have been pillars in ensuring that our school is based on strong Catholic foundations.  Just like Mary Mackillop, they faced much adversity in the early days of MQH, but had a profound love, faith and trust in God. Lead by Mary as a model they both ‘leant into God’, and recognise God is always with us during times of struggle.

Despite significant obstacles, Mary and the Sisters of St Joseph imparted an extraordinary contribution to Catholic education, particularly for their prodigious establishment of schools, and a deep concern for the education of poor and marginalised children in remote areas.  Dani and Loretta have done just that and have been instrumental in helping to set up our school environment and community. We sincerely hope that Dani and Loretta enjoy the experience and their faith is strengthened and nurtured.  May they continue to learn from Mary as a model of inclusion, resilience and courage.

This week our year 1-6 children have been out and about visiting neighbouring secondary schools to view their school productions.  We have felt honoured and privileged to be invited and to witness the exceptional talent in our secondary schools.

Ave Maria in Essendon hosted our year 5/6 students who viewed ‘High School Musical.’

Penola invited our year 3/4 cohort to be entertained by their production ‘The Addams Family’ and our year 1 ⁄ 2 cohort watched Aitken’s production of ‘The Little Mermaid.’  It was a busy, yet fulfilling week.  We are very grateful for these experiences for our children.

A staff member will now be on duty after school in the school play ground area to ensure we have adequate supervision until the playground is vacated at the end of the school day.  Please remind your toddlers and children that all play equipment is out of bounds at this time. This includes the adventure playground, the sandpit, bikes, hoops, balls etc.  This is to ensure the safety of all,  we simply don’t have the resources for supervision and it is unsafe for children to be playing in these areas unsupervised.

Our staff carpark is locked for the most part of each day and serves as a space for our staff and contractors to park cars.  Please note, this space is not to be used by families.  It is not a pedestrian zone and as such can be dangerous if walking through with young children.  Parking is available for families all along French Rd and the north side of Hillview Rd for your convenience.

It’s been so lovely to see children wearing casual clothes on their birthday.  It identifies them and allows all of us to celebrate them and give them birthday wishes.  We have noticed many families are bringing in either cakes or party bags to share for birthdays.  This is not something that we encourage, however it is at the parents discretion.  Please don’t feel as though you need to be doing this.  Where possible, if you do bring in goodies, please minimise the amount of treats in the bags.  A book or bookmark is a great alternative.

A new addition to our school uniform is coming soon for children who do not like to wear the woollen jumper.  We have a quarter zip fleece being added into the uniform selection, this can be worn in place of the woollen jumper.  We will let families know when this will be available in the uniform shop.

Class of 2025 Rugby 

Class of 2025 Jumpers are coming soon for our year 6 cohort.  Please make contact with the school office to process an order before the end of term 3.

Data is crucial for the development and improvement of our organisation.  In the coming weeks we will be inviting families to take part in a survey, giving us an insight into the opinions and views of our families.  The more data we receive the more information we can put in place for ongoing improvement. 

As an incentive for each family who completes the survey, one term of school fees is up for grabs!  Simply complete the survey and send in a screen shot of the final page to info@mqhgreenvale.catholic.edu.au to go into the draw to win a terms free school fees.

More information on the survey will be shared with you in time.

It is important to remember that not all disabilities are easy to see. Disabilities can be physical, mental, sensory, neurological, developmental or be presently undiagnosed.

How can you play your part in advocating for people with a disability?

• Listen to what people with disability have to say
• Stand up for what is right – when you hear someone harassing and bullying a person with a disability, stand up and stop it
• Stop making assumptions about people with disability and what they can and can’t do
• Ask questions respectfully – do not be afraid to ask a question but please be respectful

At MQH we support many students with disabilities through adjustments to the environment and teaching. We provide support so that all students can access learning. We work in partnership with families to establish personalised goals.

More information about challenging misconceptions about disability can be found at https://ableaustralia.org.au/just-like-you

Maths Olympics 

From the 26th of July to the 11th of August 2024, Paris is hosting the Summer Olympic Games. Here are a few events you may like to try at home: 

Cotton Bud Archery

Draw a target on the concrete with chalk. Each competitor has three cotton buds and needs to throw them from the start line. Their score is the total of where the three throws land (try saying that three times quickly!). For older students you could use large numbers or decimal or fraction values in the circles.

Provide students with a simple sheet to write scores for a few selected countries (older students should be encouraged to create a table themselves- this is an important skill in data collection and presentation). Provide time at the end of each day for your child to collate the results. 

(Thanks to Dr Ange Rogers for her Blog on “Maths Olympics’. Read more on her blog here-  https://www.numeracyteachersacademy.com/blog/mathsolympics

MHiPS 

What is MHiPS? 

The Mental Health in Primary Schools program is funded by the Victorian Government. The Department of Education are working in partnership with Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the University of Melbourne to support the program.

Part of the role is to:

•  build capacity for the whole school in the area of mental health and wellbeing – ‘identify, promote and prevent’
• provide support to staff to better identify and support students with mental health needs. 
• establish clear pathways for referral for students requiring assessment and intervention as well as monitor and evaluate student pathways

Connecting with the ‘raisingchildren.net.au’ network is a great resource. On this website you will find great parenting podcasts and many general questions can be addressed here. https://raisingchildren.net.au/ 

If you have any questions or would like to reach out please feel free to contact Sarah (Wellbeing and Maths Leader) sbrown@mqhgreenvale.catholic.edu.au  

Exciting News: CBCA Book Week 2024!

Each year since 1945, the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) has brought children and books together through the much-anticipated CBCA Book Week. This annual celebration sees schools and public libraries across Australia dedicating a week to the joy of reading and the brilliance of Australian children’s authors and illustrators.

Teachers and librarians go all out, creating vibrant displays, organizing fun activities, running engaging competitions, and storytelling sessions—all centered around a special theme to underscore the magic of reading.

Mark your calendars for CBCA Book Week 2024, which will take place in Week 6 of the term, from Saturday, 17 August to Friday, 23 August. This year’s enchanting theme is “Reading is Magic.”

We are thrilled to announce that we will hold a Book Week Assembly and Parade on Friday, 23 August at 9am. Start preparing your costumes now! If you need some DIY inspiration or creative ideas, there are plenty of free resources available to get you started.

Let’s make this Book Week a magical celebration of reading!

• 30 of the best Book Week costumes – including easy DIY hacks!

• Book Week Costumes

NAPLAN

NAPLAN Results: Celebrating Our Achievements and Planning for the Future

We are pleased to announce that our students in Grade 3 and Grade 5 have received their NAPLAN results, and we have shared this important data with families and children. The results highlight significant strengths across our school, particularly in the areas of writing and numeracy.

As a school, we have thoroughly unpacked this data to identify trends and areas for further development. This analysis allows us to tailor our teaching strategies to better meet the needs of our students and continue improving their learning outcomes.

We will be presenting this data to the Parish School Advisory Board, ensuring that our community is informed and involved in our ongoing commitment to educational excellence.

Thank you for your continued support in making our school a place of outstanding learning and growth.

Upcoming closure day – Staff Professional learning about the Vision for Instruction

We want to inform you about an important closure day on Monday, 12th August. On this day, our educators will engage in professional learning focused on exploring the Vision for Instruction position statement.

This crucial document will guide all MACS schools in delivering high-quality learning and teaching. The Vision for Instruction is part of the Flourishing Learners position statement and supports the MACS 2030 strategic plan. It outlines the preferred system-wide approach to achieving excellence in teaching and learning, based on evidence of how students learn best.

Thank you for your understanding and support as we work to enhance our educational practices for the benefit of all children.