Skip to main content

Mac St News - Friday 29 November 2024

Principals Report

Dear Parents, Carers and Community Members,

It has been another extremely busy fortnight here at Macarthur Street PS, even with the Summer Holidays approaching, nothing is slowing down at school!

Camp
This week our Grade 3-6 students went to Log Cabin Camp in Creswick. They completed several activities across 3 massive days. Camps are important for students because they offer a unique opportunity for growth, learning, and fun outside of the classroom. Our students had the opportunity to build independence, develop their social skills, increase their resilience and most importantly – create lifelong memories with their friends.

School Council
This week we had our last school council meeting of the year. I would like to thank all of members of our school council for the time and work that they have put into the school this year. School Council is vital because it strengthens the connection between families and schools, creating a collaborative environment that benefits the entire school community. If anyone is interested in joining the school council in 2025, please keep an eye out for correspondence early next year.

Concert
Staff and students have been busy creating props, practising songs and dance moves in preparation for the school concert. There are still some tickets remaining, if you would like to purchase a ticket or two, please do so via QKR.

The Writing Revolution
Last week our teaching staff had their last Writing Revolution training. The Writing Revolution focuses on teaching students how to write clear, complete sentences as a foundation for all their writing. Teachers use activities like sentence expansion, combining, and rewriting to help students understand grammar and sentence structure. Writing tasks are integrated into subjects like knowledge, Numeracy, and even Specialist subjects. We want to be encouraging our students to explain their ideas clearly while reinforcing their learning. All teaching staff are excited to be planning and implementing TWR into their classrooms in 2025.

PTIs and Student Reports
On the 9th of December, all students will have a scheduled parent/carer/teacher interview. This10-minute timeslot will be used to discuss your child’s end of semester report. Reports will be live on Compass from the 2 December. If you are unsure of your meeting time, please contact the office.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend,

Dates to Remember

  • Tuesday 3rd December

    School Concert Rehearsal 10.30am – 2.30pm at Phoenix P-12 CC Auditorium.
    Mac Street School Concert at Phoenix P-12 CC Auditorium
    Students to arrive at 5.45pm & guest to arrive at 6.15pm for a 6.30pm start

  • Wednesday 4th December

    STUDENT FREE DAY – NO SCHOOL - Village OSHC Open – Book Online 

  • Thursday 5th December

    Soldiers Hill Kindergarten Visit - Selected Grade 6 Students

  • Monday 9th December

    PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS 1.30pm – 5.30pm
    Normal school day for students

  • Tuesday 10th December
    • 2025 Foundation Final Transition Session 9.00am – 12.00pm
    • 2025 Grade 1 – 5 Grade Up Morning
    • 2025 Year 7 Orientation Day   
  • Thursday 12th December

    GRADE 6 GRADUATION

  • Thursday 19th December

    LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR THE YEAR – STUDENTS FINISH AT 1.45PM

Student of the Week

For giving their personal best during assessment weeks.

  • Foundation

    Mason

  • 1/2E

    Ruby

  • 3/4G

    Jackson

  • 5/6S

    Makayla

  • Principal's Award

    Dimmy

Foundation News - Mrs Emily Burns

What a wonderful fortnight it has been in Foundation filled with concert practice! Students have been working so hard to remember the words to their concert songs, and then master the actions too! I think they’re all very excited to perform next week in front of a big crowd! This week we have been learning about the moon and the planets in space. We enjoyed our excursion to the Ballarat Observatory where we explored how telescopes were made, launched rockets into the air, and learned about the rotation of the planets in our solar system.

Last night, we hosted our Foundation Late Night Stay, and all the students had a wonderful time, thoroughly enjoying their pizza dinner.

Grade 1/2 News - Miss Rhiannon Eustice

On Monday the Grade 1/2's went on an excursions with Foundation to the Ballarat Municipal Observatory. Students had a great time with Kira and Judith who ran us through lots of different activities helping us to understand how light works, how planets orbit the sun and different types of telescopes that allow us to see objects in space.

The Grade 1/2 students had prepared questions from their knowledge unit in class such as; Why is there dust on the moon? What causes gravity? How were Saturn's rings made? What would happen if you went into a gaseous planet? The students even wanted to know if you can find Mars bars on Mars (apparently not - but we can dream)!

GRADE 3-6 CAMP AT LOG CABIN IN CRESWICK – Mr Andrew Goodson

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, the Grade 3-6’s enjoyed some time out of the classroom at Log Cabin Homestead in Creswick.

With the weather going in our favour, the students partook in a multitude of activities over the course of the camp which included: the Giant Swing, Orienteering, Milk Crate Stacking, the Gaga Pit, Initiatives Activities, Archery, the Possum Glide, the Leap of Faith, the Games Room, the Zipline and Hut Building. In and around this, we still (unbelievably) had some time for… free-time!

Another highlight of the camp was the food; Leo, our chef, provided us all with tasty meals which filled every little bit of our bellies. Breakfast was toast and/or cereal. Lunches were hamburgers on Tuesday and chicken wraps on Wednesday. Dinner on Monday was a chicken schnitzel with veggies, and spaghetti Bolognese on Tuesday night.

The camp was a great opportunity for students to try something they hadn’t done before (and might not get to do again), show some resilience and spend some time in a classroom of a different kind – the great outdoors.

After three days of camp, students came back to the real-world feeling a combination of weariness, enjoyment and pride.

2025 Book List Cost – Payment Due 19/12/2024

In 2025 we will be obtaining our student stationery packs from KaKa Kids, payment is now required to school (via QKR app) by 19/12/2024. Individually named stationery packs will be delivered to your child’s classroom before the start of the 2025 school year.  All stationery items are carefully selected by the teachers for their suitability for your child’s use during their year of studies. 

We ask the ALL families purchase their Book Pack from the school, so all students have the same stationery items. This method is more equitable and easier for parents/carers.

  • Foundation - 2025:

    $104.27

  • Grade 1 - 2025:

    $101.09

  • Grade 2 - 2025:

    $98.08

  • Grade 3 - 2025:

    $71.03

  • Grade 4 - 2025:

    $71.03

  • Grade 5 - 2025:

    $70.45

  • Grade 6 - 2025:

    $70.45

Students birthday

Happy Birthday to the students who have celebrated their birthdays recently or will be celebrating in the days ahead.

  • Mia
  • Dimmy
  • Harley W