21 April 2016

Newsletter Articles

Anzac Day Service

All students are welcome to participate in the Maroochy RSL Anzac Day March on Monday April 25.

Students are asked to meet Mrs Pool and myself from 8:00am – 8:20am at the traffic lights in front of the Maroochy RSL with the March commencing at 8:30am.

All parents are then asked to meet our school group when we complete the march near the Cenotaph area in Cotton Tree Park. This then allows parents and their children to attend as a family group for the main part of the service.

All students need to wear their school uniform and to bring their hat.

On Friday at school we shall also have a short Anzac Day Ceremony and parents are invited to attend. The Ceremony will be led by our student leaders and it will commence at 12 Noon on the grassy area around the school’s flagpole.

School Photographs

School photographs will be taking place at school on Wednesday May 4.

Today, students are coming home with their individual school photograph envelopes.

Please note: if you also require a family siblings photograph you need to contact the school office ASAP to collect a family school photograph envelope.

Ordering and payment. All photographs can be ordered and paid for online. Or with cash, cheque, money order with the envelope to the school office.

Please note: all orders and payments are to be made by May 4.

Cross Country

Monday May 23 - Some exciting news around our cross country this year with a new course under development which will include some oval running, dashing through small water jumps, running through sand, going under cargo nets, swerving through agility poles, crossing high jump mats and over a few mulch dunes. We will be using the large school ovals over the main road and students are advised to bring an extra set of socks and shoes for this activity.

This will also be a P&C fundraising activity with sponsorship details coming home shortly from the P&C.

Students in the 10 – 12 year age group who would like to trial for the upcoming District Cross Country run to be held at Bli Bli are being asked to meet Mrs Pool and Mr Maish on the school oval at first break, 10:30am, on Thursday for a distance run to assist Mr Chamberlain with final selections.

Helping Hands

Before and after school Care – a big welcome to Kailah, the new director, to the role. Kailah spoke on Monday’s Parade about an exciting new Super Spy Detective programme and a tutoring service that is upcoming. Details at the School hall or from the brochures in the School Office.

Book Club

The P&C will be sending home the next book club edition in early May. Again, parents are to place their order directly online with Book Club.

School Facebook page

Mrs Pool updates the school Facebook frequently and we are hearing a more convenient way for parents today to get short bites of information.

Student Writing at MSS

It’s fantastic to be a part of the team at Maroochydore State School as Writing Coach. From Tuesdays to Thursdays I will be working with all teachers to enhance the skills they already have in the teaching of writing. I have already listened to and seen fantastic creative writing from many of the students and this section of the newsletter will be shining the light on these successes. Take a look at this highlight!

Year 3 have been working on Lightning Writing – That’s, short, sharp, quick writing completed in three minutes! Check out this sample:

Something rattled in my toy cupboard. I carefully opened the door and looked inside. It was my teddies home and they were having a tea party. It was a world of teddies. They were alive. Even my favourite one…

I will be working with the teachers implementing the Seven Steps to Writing program. As good writers, the students will learn that we write for different purposes – to entertain, to persuade, to inform. They will also learn how writing is organised. This will become their Knowledge Toolkit.

The Seven Steps to Writing program is based on a Chunking system that is easily and quickly used when writing a narrative and persuasive text. The first step the teachers will be learning about is Planning for Success. During this process they will learn and model to their students how planning is an integral part of the process. They will also learn how to use a story graph for each of the steps that visually demonstrates how a story is plotted out.

I look forward to sharing with you some pictures and stories of best practice from our Maroochydore classrooms as I work with teachers each week.

Parents, did you know reading text is the first step to writing it. Do you know about the Little Big Book Club?

The http://www.thelittlebigbookclub.com.au/ is an early literacy program for 0-5 year olds. It is promoted through public libraries by the State Library of Queensland in partnership with The Courier-Mail and The Big Book Club Inc. The Little Big Book Club website includes an extensive list of suggested reading material for children of all ages.

Jenny Sharp
Writing Coach