16 March 2016

Newsletter Articles

Term 1 Fundraiser – Crazy Hair, Free Dress Day

Shave for a Cure, Leukaemia Foundation

A big thank you to the students and parents for contributing to our first fundraiser of the year. Last Friday we had a range of colour and styles on our heads. Mrs Sinclair’s also showed great skill in shaving her husband’s head, beard and moustache during second break in front of the senior students. A total of $265 dollars is being forwarded to the Leukaemia Foundation.

School Leaders

Miss Fiona Simpson, our local State MP, presented leadership badges to our 2016 school leaders.

This year we had a large number of Year 6 students give speeches to our senior students. We would like to congratulate each of these students on their speech and presentation. They were simply the best I had heard in my four years here.

Congratulations to the successful students for the 2016 leadership positions.

Hope Miller and Brogan King are our Student Leaders for 2016.

Slade Fitzgerald and Bryce Katu our Sport Leaders.

A past student, Jayda Pashby has been elected as a School Leader at Maroochydore State High School. Congratulations Jayda!

Student Health Plans

Did our school nurse send to you important forms around the management of your child’s condition at school? These do need to be updated by you and your doctor and returned to school ASAP.

These are now overdue and having up-to-date information is important for the care of all students.

Whooping Cough Notification

Today at 11:25am the Sunshine Coast Public Health Unit notified the school of a confirmed case of whooping cough in a Year 6 student. Could all parents please check their child’s school bag as an information note has been sent home today? There has been a recent increase of whooping cough amongst primary aged children and a modest increase in high school students in the Sunshine Coast area and state-wide.

Under Covered Area

Last week, Arthur, an indigenous artist completed a rejuvenation-painting project in the Under Covered Area. This has enhanced the eating and play area with a stunning mural and animal paintings. Many thanks to Mrs Toni White, along with the indigenous students and their friends who contributed to the painting. A brilliant and vibrant result!

Break In and Graffiti

All parents are encouraged to ring School Watch on 13 17 88 if they see people acting suspiciously on school grounds after school hours. Many thanks to Mr Cullen who organised for the damage to be removed and repaired so quickly with minimal disruption to our students.

Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be a Learner

Our 4 school rules. Shared on Parade, reinforced in the classroom and in the playground.

Voluntary School Contributions

Thank you to the many parents who have already paid the $50 Voluntary School Contribution. This does support our purchase of extra resources to support the teaching and learning activities across the school and enhances what we offer to your children.

Student Absences

Attendance target -95%. Last week our attendance was 92.4%

It is disappointing to see Friday and Monday becoming days of high absenteeism.

Monday – a positive learning day for all after a two day break!

Monday to Friday = positive learning follows a good night’s sleep. Add healthy food and brains are engaged and ready to absorb learning.

If your child is absent from school are parents are asked to contact the Office and let us know of their absence. Our School Office contact number is 5475 1555. Please keep this number handy.

Curriculum Update

Maroochydore State School teaches the Australian Curriculum using the Education Queensland resource called Curriculum into the Classroom, or C2C. Teachers use their knowledge of the students in their class to personalise the way learning is done. Students develop understanding about the content of the Australian Curriculum and work towards the achievement standards for each year level. This is how learning may look different from class to class and school to school while all students are working towards the same outcomes.

Teachers will now have some information about the units being studied by your child’s class on display for you. You might find it interesting to read about or ask your child about what they are learning in English, Maths, Science, History or Geography. In coming newsletters, we will publish some more information about class curriculum units.

A big focus for us this year will be Coding. You may have seen discussions in the news about how important learning about coding is for our students. It will be important in many jobs and careers of their future. For some, coding will be about programing computers and creating programs, but for many understanding, coding will simply mean understanding the technology in our lives and how it works. Maroochydore State School students have been learning about coding for the past two years. We have taken part in the 2014 and 2015 Hour of Code, a worldwide event that raises awareness and understanding about coding and its important uses in our society and industry. Perhaps you could ask your child to show you what they can already do on

or

Have you heard your child using the term ‘I do; We do; You do’? This is a way of describing a method of learning and teaching called The Gradual Release of Responsibility. It is research based and studies have shown its effectiveness. It gradually moves the responsibility for learning from the teacher to the student. We use this method in many areas of learning, particularly in reading comprehension and writing as well as in maths.

It involves the teacher first showing and explaining – they are the ones doing. Next, students and teachers do the doing together. When students are ready, they work on their own – they are the ones doing and they work, with peer and teacher support, towards doing independently.

Imaging you are teaching someone to drive. You would not just hand them the keys and let them try to drive! First, you would drive with them in the car, explaining what you are doing, how and why. You would talk about the road rules, the decisions you make about when to brake or indicate. You might talk about keeping a safe distance from the car in front and about checking over your shoulder before changing lanes. You might demonstrate how to change gears or do a reverse park. This is the ‘I do’ phase. Next you might let the learner drive in a low traffic area while you give them instructions. As they grow in skill and confidence, you would give less instruction. For some very nervous drivers, there are cars with dual controls used by driving schools. This is the ‘We do’ phase. By the time your learner driver has completed their 100 hours of driving with you in the car, they might be driving independently with you in the car but not giving much advice. They might be ready for their driving test. This is the ‘You do’ phase. Now the new driver is responsible for continuing to gain skill and experience. They might even decide to do a defensive driving course to enhance their learning.

Students at Maroochydore are becoming very familiar with the ‘I do; We do; You do’ method.