Dear families,

With our school holidays just around the corner and the first semester of Mary Queen of Heaven coming to an end let’s reflect and  pray together calling on St Francis of Assisi for inspiration.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: 

where there is hatred, let me sow love; 

where there is injury, pardon; 

where there is doubt, faith;                                         

where there is despair, hope; 

where there is darkness, light; 

where there is sadness, joy. 

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

May we always remember the values of our school in our interactions with one another.

Love

Respect

Courage

Humility

Reflecting on the past 6 months we have so much to be grateful for and so much to celebrate.  We have formed new relationships, new friendships and for some these will carry through for the rest of your lives.  Precious times to be sewing seeds of hope for our future.

Mary Queen of Heaven has celebrated so much as a school community this year.  From our welcome open day at the very beginning of the school year, to our Mothers Day celebrations, a whole school excursion, the sacraments o0f Reconciliations and Eucharist weekly Mass held here in our magnificent sacred space, to opening up additional play spaces and a whole lot more!  We are so grateful for the parents and community support we have received and especially grateful for the amazing students we have, assisting us to build a beautiful school culture.

Next term promises to be even bigger with more opportunities coming our students’ way.  We have plans for a whole school 100 days of MQH, a Colour Run, a Camp experience for our senior students, more excursions, the opening of our grassed ovals for play and the introduction of Mac & Bluebell to assist our wellbeing program.  It’s sure to be an exciting time.

An additional change that we are making based on our observations so far is the morning bell time.  We are finding that for many of our children the 30 minutes from 8:30am before the morning bell is too long and children are becoming dysregulated.  To help support a more calm start to the day, from term 3 the music will play from 8:45 and children can choose to go inside and read or be involved in a calm mindful activity or remain in the school yard (fully supervised).   This provides more choice for our learners and offers them what they need to begin the day.  The bell will then go at 8:55am as normal.  It is really important that families do their best to have children arrive before the school bell so their days begin in a calm manner and they are present for key learning.

Earlier this year we partnered with Traces of Learning (https://tracesoflearning.com/)  Traces is a model of Inquiry learning and teaching that focuses on Discovery for P-2 and Projects for 3-6.  We are so excited to be sharing this journey with you and your children throughout term 3 and 4 of this year.  The Traces model with rejuvenate our approach to Inquiry.  It will impact the look of our learning spaces and ensure that our Inquiry is student centered and carries strong student voice and choice.  Our date driven Literacy and Numeracy programs will not change, these are crucial to ensure that we are meeting the individual needs of all learners.

In term 3 we are looking forward to utilising our two large grassed areas for play and the introduction of some additional shade and seating around the school yard.  In addition to this we are welcoming basketball backboards and rings as well as Basketball line marking and some additional line marked games.  

We hope to act upon some of the AMAZING learning that has stemmed from our Prep and year 1/2 classrooms this term, seeking a community garden and composting options.  Below you will see that our junior learners worked collaboratively to write letters, create maps of our school, design possible community garden ideas and create posters to remind us all to be Stewards of God’s creation in caring for the MQH environment.  With such passion and drive, how can we possibly not act on these BRILLIANT ideas?

School Leaders update

School Captains

Parliament Prize 2023

Each year, the Parliament of Victoria asks students across the state, from Grade 5 to Year 12, to share what they would say to parliament if you were an MP. This is a chance to talk about the issues that are important to you and your community. 

Children were invited to record their own 90-second Member’s Statement video.

Our School Captains, Grace and Charlene, have taken part in this competition, as well as a few of our leaders.

We with them well as they continue to enact their leadership and use their voice for advocacy and change.

Mission and Faith Leaders

As the Mary Queen of Heaven Mission and Faith leaders we are committed to living out our value of love.  As such, we have organized a food drive.for the Salvation Army. 

At Mary Queen of Heaven we will be supporting the Salvation Army with a Winter Food appeal. We invite people to bring in non-perishable items such as the following: 

Pepper and salt

Rice

Long life milk

Pasta 

Sugar

Nuts

Canned food

This food will be donated to the Salvation Army in Craigieburn to support people within our community that are in need.  We will deliver our items to Colin from the Salvation Army at our assembly on Friday 4 August, which is next term. 

Colin will be talking to us about how our donation will support those in his community.

Starting next week, you can bring these items to school. We will collect these items from your classrooms at the end each day.

Many thanks for your support.

Mia and Livi, Grade 5

Sustainability Leader

Naledi, our Sustainability Leader, has already led an initiative to gather litter within our community during our Friday walking club.  As part of her next initiative, to support the 1-2 children to set up food scrap collection and start up a composting system, Naledi will be joining the 1-2 children in a visit to the School of the Good Shepherd to find out about how they have set this up in their school. 

Stay tuned for more information about this!

Sports and Recreation leaders

Our Sports and Recreation leaders, Jake and Amelia, have enacted their first leadership duty to ensure the provision of balls for children to play with at recess and lunch.  Their next initiative will be to design a poster in order to support children in using this equipment safely in modified versions of ball games.

Community and Social Justice leaders

(Written by the leaders themselves)

At the Greenvale West Community Centre, we got to meet Iwan Walters the Minister for Greenvale, and had the pleasure to put our aboriginal art work up on their art wall. They gave us a tour of the center and it was amazing. There was so much natural lighting! It was a great experience. 

We will be exploring ways we can use the spaces available at the Centre for future Mary Queen of Heaven events.

We thank the Greenvale west community Centre workers for letting us have the opportunity to do this.

-Bas and Krystyna

Learning and Teaching update

Inquiry 

Prep – 2 learners

Our Preps and 1-2 children have been busy scientists as they enact an experiment to see the changes that occur to a bean once we ‘plant’ it!

They have hypothesised (made predictions) and observed and recorded changes they have noticed based on their observations.

Our 1-2 children have also been conducting their own experiment this week, as they provided a chart to record the amount of food scraps that are thrown into our regular (red) bin.  They will collate this data to then make conclusions about how we might solve this problem and better use these food scraps (hint – compost!!)

Next Tuesday, they will visit the School of the Good Shepherd to find out more about how they have gathered and used food scraps to make compost for their community garden! 

3-6 Learners

Reconciliation week

To culminate Reconciliation week, the children of the Mary Queen of Heaven created a ‘Bunjil the Eagle’.  The Wurundjeri people, upon whose land we work and learn on, believe that Bunjil is the Ancestral Wedge-tailed Eagle, the creator. Waa is the Ancestral Crow, the protector. They believe that Bunjil created much of south-eastern Australia and the features and animals within it. He also created people, by breathing life into figures moulded from clay.

We are so proud of what we have achieved as a community in 6 short months. We look forward to building the MQH community in the second half of this year. 

A reminder, if you do not already do so, please follow us on Facebook and Instagram; we often share snapshots of children’s learning and the joy they experience at school!

Facebook: Mary Queen of Heaven Greenvale

Instagram: mqh_greenvale

Wishing you all a happy and safe school holiday break.

Renae & team

Dear Families,

This week we recognise National Reconciliation Week (NRW,) a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2023, Be a Voice for Generations, encourages all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives – where we live, work and socialise.

For the work of generations past, and the benefit of generations future, let’s choose to create a more just, equitable and reconciled country for all.

National Sorry Day 2023

On Friday 26th May, we gathered as a school community to recognise National Sorry Day. On this day, we remember and acknowledge the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’. 

Sorry Day is important because the children were separated from their families, sometimes never seeing them again. Their families were special to them and they were forcibly removed from them. 

Savannah – Grade 3

Sorry Day is important because it was really sad that the Aboriginal children were taken away from their families. 

Jasper – Grade 3

National Reconciliation Week 2023

Mary Queen of Heaven has been recognising National Reconciliation week by participating in a number of learning experiences that have helped to understand more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, the oldest continuing culture in human history. 

Dreamtime Story Artwork

I listened to Tiddilick the Frog dreamtime story. When I created my artwork, I used sticks for the trees and blue glitter for the pond. Tiddilick the Frog drank all the water. The other animals did not have any left so the animals made him laugh which made him spat out the water. The water made the rivers and lakes.

Joshua – Grade 1 

Bunjil Feather Art

As part of our learning, we have been reading the story of Bunjil The Eagle. We created feathers for Bunjil using Aboriginal symbols and colours.

In the coming week our year 4 students will celebrate the Sacrament of Eucharist.  We ask that you all keep them in your prayers as they continue on their journey through the Initiation into the Catholic Church.  We ask God to bless our candidates and nourish them with his body and blood, bringing them ever closer to him.  For any families who would like to join in celebrating the sacrament, please join us at Good Shepherd Catholic Church Sunday 4th June 3pm

Thank you to all of our families who completed the recent swimming survey.  We strongly encourage families to engage in swimming lessons for their children.  Learning to swim is a skill that all Australians should be equipped with.  We will use the data collected to inform future initiatives at our school.

In recent weeks we have seen some of our families get into their cars at the end of the school day and take off without the children being properly retrained into their seats or wearing seat belts.  This is alarming and VERY dangerous.  Please ensure you take your time to check that your children are secured into their seats, fully seat belted before the car begins to move off.

Children require adult supervision and assistance in the traffic environment. It is important to:

• Talk together about signs and traffic lights. Identify and discuss places where it is safe to cross the road.

• Teach your child how to cross roads using the ‘stop, look, listen and think’ process – stop at the kerb, look and listen for traffic and then decide whether it is safe to cross. Take the trip to school together along the safest footpaths and use safe crossing places, such as pedestrian crossings and on straight sections of road.

• Supervise your child on the way to and from school.

• Always be a good role model for your child by wearing your own seatbelt, obeying road rules, driving courteously and crossing roads safely.

• Ask at your child’s school what road safety programs are being taught.

It has been noted that some construction workers are not driving safely around our school.  If you see trucks or tradespeople driving unsafely, PLEASE report them to the company they work for.  It is important we all take responsibility for the safety of our community.

Asthma & Allergies

If your child/children has asthma or any allergies, please notify the office and provide an updated action plan from your doctor as soon as possible. 

Health Care Card Holders

If you hold a current Health Care Card please provide the office with a copy.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) On School  Students with Disability 

What is the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data? 

Schools must now complete the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with  Disability (NCCD) every year. It counts the number of students who receive additional adjustments  or “help” at school because of a disability. The NCCD helps governments plan for the needs of  students with disability.  

Who is counted in the data collection? 

To count a student in the NCCD, schools must think through some key questions: 

1. Is the student getting help at school so that they can take part in education on the same  basis as other students? 
2. Is the help given because of a disability? The word ‘disability’ comes from the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) and it can include many students. 
3. Has the school talked to you or your child about the help that they provide? 4. Has the school kept records about the help they provide, the student needs and the reasons  that the student needs this help? The school will need to keep copies of tests, student  work, assessments, records of meetings, medical reports or other paperwork and  information about how the student’s learning is moving along over time. 

Once the school decides that the student should be counted in the NCCD, they then choose a  disability group and one of four levels of help that has been given to the student. 

What does the word ‘disability’ mean in the NCCD? 

In the NCCD the word ‘disability’ comes from the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA). There  are four types of disability that the school can choose from: sensory, cognitive, social-emotional  and physical. 

Many students that need help at school can be counted in the NCCD. For example, students with  learning problems, e.g. specific learning disability or reading difficulty (sometimes called dyslexia),  health problems (e.g. epilepsy or diabetes), physical disability (e.g. cerebral palsy), vision/hearing  loss and social-emotional problems (e.g. selective mutism, Autism Spectrum Disorder, anxiety). 

Letters from doctors or specialists can be very helpful for schools as they plan how to support  students with their learning. Schools do not need to have these letters before they can count a

student in NCCD. Teachers can use all that they know about the student’s learning and the records  that they have collected over time to decide if a student can be counted in the NCCD. 

What sort of help does the school give students? 

Students need different types of help at school. Some students need a little help sometimes while  other students need a lot of help nearly all the time. The type of help given depends on the needs  of the student. The help can include changes to the school buildings or grounds (e.g. ramps or  things like special desks or chairs), extra teacher help in classes, special learning programs, changes  to the work they give the student or extra adult help.  

How will the NCCD be different this year? 

All schools have been counting students in the NCCD since 2015. The government will use the  NCCD data as part of the funding to schools.  

What will the school need to know about my child for the NCCD?  Schools work together with families to understand the needs of each child. It is helpful if families give their child’s teacher a copy of any letters or reports they have. The letters or reports will help  the school understand the child and the help that they might need. Letters from doctors,  psychologists, speech pathologists, doctor, and occupational therapists etc. can be very helpful for  schools. These reports along with information that the teacher has (i.e. school based tests, your  child’s work and learning plans) helps the school to understand and meet your child’s needs. 

What happens to the NCCD data? Who will have the NCCD information?  Each school principal must check the NCCD data in August of each year. The school will give the  information to the Catholic Education Office. The school will work with the Catholic Education  Office to make sure that the NCCD data is OK before they give the data to the government. The  government will not be given the names of any students or any letters or records. Please ask your  school for their privacy policy if you need to know more. 

Does the school need me to agree with them about counting my child in the NCCD? Amendments were made to the Australian Education Act 2013 and Australian Education Regulation  2013). Schools do not need you to agree to let them count a child in the NCCD. You cannot ask the  school not to count your child. 

Where can I find out more? 

Please contact your child’s school if you have further questions about the NCCD and/or refer to the  national NCCD Portal.

School Captains’ report

Throughout this term, all the 3-6 have been learning about Aboriginals and their connection to land. Before the excursion, we were assigned to lead groups and guide them through their activities at Woodlands Park. In separate groups, we taught the Prep – 2s what biodiversity is and how the Aboriginal people used the land for survival. Overall, the excursion was great and each activity was enjoyable and fun. Our favourite was the walk around the park to spot different animals and plants. 

Charlene and Grace, Grade 6

                                                    Last day of Term 2

Please note the last day of Term 2 will be Friday 23rd June. Students will finish at 1pm.

Students can wear casual clothes on the last day of school for a gold coin donation.