Mac St News - Friday 4th September

Principal's Report

Dear Parents, Carers and Community Members,

We have had another busy fortnight here at Macarthur Street!

Staff have been busily planning for Term 4, with just two weeks remaining of Term 3. Where has the year gone?!

The past two weeks have been filled with plenty of exciting learning experiences and events. Our Grade 1/2 students visited the Ballarat Observatory, while our Grade 5/6 students have represented the school in football, netball and futsal against other schools across Ballarat. We have also celebrated Book Week, which was a fantastic opportunity for students to share their love of reading and get creative with their costumes.

No wonder the term is going by so quickly!

School Concert

Thank you to all the families who have purchased tickets for our school production. Our staff and students have been working tirelessly to perfect their performances, and we are getting very excited for the big night!

We will soon send out information for families who would like to purchase additional tickets. Unfortunately, we are unable to hold tickets, so any additional tickets will be available on a first-in, best-dressed basis.

We can't wait to see everyone there!

Father's Day

It was lovely to finish the week with our students welcoming their fathers and special guests into the classroom for a range of activities.

A big thank you to everyone who took the time to come along and spend some time at school with our students. We know how busy life can be, so we really appreciate you making the time to be part of their school experience.

Parent/Carer Survey

Thank you to the families who have already completed the Parent/Carer Survey. Your feedback is incredibly valuable and helps us understand what we are doing well and where we can continue to improve our school.

The survey will close in one week and takes approximately 20–30 minutes to complete.

You can access the survey using the details below:

Link: https://research.orima.com/parent

Passcode: 929219

If you haven't completed the survey yet, we would really appreciate you taking the time to have your say.

School Hats in Term 4

With Term 4 fast approaching, it is time to dust off those school hats!

As part of our SunSmart Policy, students are required to wear a Macarthur Street school hat when participating in outdoor activities and play. If your child needs a new school hat, they are available for purchase from the school office.

Child Safety and School Policies

At Macarthur Street Primary School, we are committed to providing an environment where every student is safe and feels safe. We have zero tolerance for child abuse and are committed to protecting children from harm.

Our comprehensive Child Safety and Wellbeing framework outlines the strategies and processes we have in place to support student safety and wellbeing. This framework includes a range of policies, codes and procedures, including:

Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy
Child Safety Code of Conduct
Child Abuse (including Grooming) – Identification and Response
Complaints Policy
Student Wellbeing and Engagement Policy
Bullying Prevention Policy
Volunteers Policy
Visitors Policy
Digital Learning Policy
Yard Duty and Supervision Policy

Our students and their families are important partners in keeping our school community safe. We value your feedback and ideas about how we can continue to strengthen our child safety practices and ensure our school remains a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for every child.

Our school policies are available to view on the school website: www.macps.vic.gov.au

If you have any questions, suggestions or comments regarding our policies or child safety practices, please don't hesitate to contact BJ or I.

Have a great weekend.

Anthony Cross

2026 Dates

Monday 7th September 2026

Students finish at 1.45pm
Parent Teacher Interviews begin at 2.00pm
Thursday 10th September 2026

Rehearsal at Phoenix for the School Concert – All Students 10.30am - 2.30pm

School Concert at Phoenix P-12 CC Auditorium 6.30pm – purchase tickets via QKR – maximum 4 tickets per family
Friday 11th September 2026

Pyjama Day
Thursday 17th September 2026

Grade 3-6 Observatory Evening Excursion

Grade 3-6 do not commence school until 3.00pm on this day and will have tea at school.
Friday 18th September 2026

Last day of Term 3 – Students finish at 1.45pm
Monday 5th October

First day of Term 4
Tuesday 10th to 13th November

Grade 3-6 School Camp to Cottage by the Sea

Student of the Fortnight

For students that have attended school each day in Term 2.

Foundation

Oliver C
1V

Tobias-Odin
2E

Leo
3/4 G

Dawn
5/6I

Tom
Pricipal Award

Macey W
Specialist

Zoey & Addison

Foundation News - Mrs Emily Burns

This past week in Foundation, we have been working so hard on our phonics and writing skills. In Sounds-Write, we are building and reading words with 5 letters and 5 sounds! It’s excellent to see the progression that students are making with their reading. In Writing we are working hard on our dictation sentences and then consolidating our understanding of expanding sentences with a when and where. In Maths, we are learning all about subtraction and learning strategies to take away.

Knowledge this week has been all about the moon – we learned that we only see one side of the moon from earth and can never see the other side! Concert is so close and our singing voices are getting better each day!

Grade 1 News - Mrs Tanya Vanderkley

In the Grade One classroom, we have been exploring Narrative Writing and learning about the many “devices and techniques” writers use to create engaging stories for their audience.

As we have been learning all things space, our narrative theme has been “Lost in Space.” The students have used their imaginations to create wonderful stories filled with astronauts, aliens, rockets and exciting adventures!

We have been learning how writers use descriptive language, interesting adjectives, emotions and dialogue to bring their stories to life. We have also been focusing on creating engaging beginnings, building excitement and suspense, using correct punctuation, and revising and editing our writing to make it the best it can be.

The students have produced some amazing pieces of work!

With the school performance fast approaching, we have also been busy rehearsing, practising our lines and working together as a team to make our class performance the best it can be!

TWO WEEKS TO GO!!!!!

GRADE 2 NEWS – Miss Rhiannon Eustice

Last Tuesday the Grade 2 students went to the Ballarat Municipal Observatory. It was a great experience. Students had the opportunity to see inside an observatory, watch space movies and look at four different telescopes! The video about what it might be like to travel and live on Mars was particularly interesting as the Grade 2 students had learnt that Mars is a rocky planet covered in rust that has no atmosphere.

This week we have made a further connection to the planet Mars by reading about Curiosity - The story of a Mars Rover. It is a special machine built by engineers at NASA to travel to Mars and collect photos, samples of Mars' surface and conduct experiments in its laboratory to send information back to Earth. Did you know that Mars has two ice caps? One at top and bottom of the planet, just like how Earth has a north and south pole!

GRADE 3/4 NEWS – Mr Andrew Goodson

Over the past fortnight, the concert preparations have ramped up in the 3/4 room (as it has across the school).

The class has been working hard in readiness for the big day (now less than a week away)! A big part of this has been practising for our two songs. Without giving to much away, these songs are based on the fairy tales ‘The Three Blind Mice’ and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’.

In our acts, you will see three blind mice arguing about who should check to see if the farmer’s wife (Orica) is anywhere in the kitchen. You will also see the interaction between Lil’ Red and the Big Bad Wolf.

There will be many twists and turns along the way as we see whether Brandon and Brandon can save Fantasyland from the evil, nasty Orica.

GRADE 5/6 NEWS – Mrs Bonnie Irving

On Wednesday, August 26th, some of our Grade 5 and 6 students ventured out to Creswick to compete in our annual Winter Sports Tournament against Invermay and Creswick North. Both our football and netball teams played two games throughout the day.

There was some very close competition, with our football game against Invermay coming down to the final minutes. Macey was our toughest player on the ground, taking a few good knocks but still eager to return to the field and finish the day. What a champion effort!

Our netballers also faced some stiff competition, with both Invermay and Creswick North displaying wonderful team spirit and sportsmanship. Their players were generous in sharing tips and pointers with our team throughout the day. Cyrus finished as our top goal scorer, with a whopping five goals!

We look forward to this event every year, as it is always such a wonderful day out. It is fantastic to see our students competing, supporting one another and showing great sportsmanship throughout the day. Well done to everyone who participated!

FOUNDATION 100 DAYS OF SCHOOL CELEBRATIONS

AUGUST 17 WAS THE START OF BULLYING NO WAY WEEK.

In class during wellbeing time, Foundation - Grade 6 students took part in a educational session ran by qualified Kids Helpline counsellors. The lessons provided practical tools and strategies to help students recognise, respond to, and prevent bullying. It also opened up conversations in class for identifying other behaviours such as conflict and being mean on purpose that students can sometimes call bullying. Kids Helpline have created a 19-minute webinar recording that helps parents understand and help to facilitate a conversation with your child who may be having issues.

These issues do not have to be related to bullying, it could simply be a conflict between friends. Stephanie and Kim do a great job at sharing that although sometimes we want to help solve problems straight away, sometimes the best thing we can do is just listen, validate your child's feelings and then support them to manage conflicts themselves. At Macarthur Street Primary School we pride ourselves on having an inclusive and supportive culture, however as mentioned in this video, 60% of kids are unlikely to tell a parent that they are being bullied.

They are less likely to tell an adult at school. If there has been repeat incidents and you feel it is not a age appropriate conflict or children being mean on purpose, please reach out to the school by contacting your child's teacher or by completing our online - Wellbeing Support Referral & Consent Form so we can work with you to support you child.

Parent Video - How to support your child if they're being bullied

Click Here to view the Video

Student birthdays

Happy Birthday to all students who will celebrate their birthday in the coming days/ week.

Summer
Auggie
Braxten
Izzi