Mac St News - Friday 21st March 2025
Principals Report
Dear Parents, Carers and Community Members,
The past fortnight at Macarthur Street has been both eventful and filled with excitement!
It was fantastic to see so many families attend our school athletics day. Despite the warm weather, our students participated enthusiastically, showcasing their sportsmanship and competitive spirit. We are incredibly proud of our Grade 3-6 students who will be representing our school at the upcoming district athletics competition. We wish them all the best and are confident they will represent Macarthur Street with pride.
We are deep into the term now and students are settling into full weeks of learning. We have been continuing our letter and sound knowledge each morning in Sounds-Write with some nice successes. Students are becoming more confident to share their understandings in both Reading and Writing lessons where we have a lot of oral turn and talk norms.
In Maths, everyone is getting better at completing our ‘Explicit Maths Program’, and understanding the various gestures and cues needed to demonstrate learning. In Knowledge, students have been sharing understandings of people that help keep us safe, in the community, school and at home. Have a lovely weekend!
In the Grade One classroom this week, students have been continuing to refine their writing skills, by creating some very convincing persuasive writing pieces!!
The students have imagined waking up on the goldfields, creating some wonderful drawings of the view from their “humble abodes!” (See images)
Furthermore, the Grade One students have been investigating the “art” of gold panning, learning lots of tips and tricks in preparation for our upcoming visit to Sovereign Hill - we are hoping to “Strike it Rich!”
Grade 2 have really settled into their learning for Term 1. Students are showcasing their improvements in Sounds-Write by reading and writing more complex texts. This week students have focused on converting fragments (part of a sentence) into a complete sentence.
They can identify the subject and predicate and re-write sentences that are missing one of these. I have been particularly proud of how students are continuing to focus on letter formation and using their knowledge of sounds to help write phonetically plausible unknown words. Keep up the amazing work everyone!
Over the past couple of weeks, we have been learning about the Australian Gold Rush. The Australian Gold Rush began in the 1850s when gold was discovered in places like New South Wales and Victoria. People from all over the world rushed to Australia, hoping to find gold and become rich.
They dug in the ground, panned in rivers and worked very hard. Towns grew quickly and new roads, schools and shops were built. However, life was tough: miners faced long days, difficult conditions and sometimes fights over gold. The Gold Rush changed Australia forever, bringing more people and helping cities grow into what they are today!
On Thursday the Grade 5/6‘s went to the Eureka Centre to learn more about what happened on the goldfields in the 1850’s.
We first greeted the staff then we were split into 2 groups, then we were split into smaller groups of 2. The now duo/partner groups were given a special type of iPad, programmed for the Eureka Centre activities. We had to research a specific person chosen for our group.
After that, we moved to a massive room with huge, interactive screens which helped us do research on the conditions people found themselves in on the goldfields.
Lastly at the Eureka Centre, we looked at the real Eureka Flag. We did some research on its origins and had some discussion about it.
At the end, we had some lunch and then set off for our long walk back to school.
On the way back to school we stopped to look at some memorials for the miners, we looked at some bigger statues like the Burke and Wills fountain. At the end of the walk everyone was very tired, but it was all very fun.
-Beau and Ruby
Congratulations to all the students who participated in this year’s Athletics Carnival—what an incredible day it was!
The excitement kicked off with a lively group aerobic warm-up, setting the tone for the competition ahead. From there, it was straight into the action with the 60-metre dash. Every student gave it their all, with even a few staff members stepping up to prove they’ve still got some speed left in them!
Students then teamed up with their peers for the field events, which included the Vortex throw, shot put, discus, hurdles, long jump, triple jump, and high jump. The atmosphere was buzzing as everyone cheered each other on, making it clear that teamwork and school spirit were just as important as the individual challenges.
As the sun blazed overhead, the heat started to build, so we made the decision to shorten the afternoon’s events. Only the 200m and the Year 5/6 relays were held, ensuring everyone stayed cool and safe.
A much-needed Zooper Dooper break gave everyone a chance to cool off while results were tallied up and the final placings were announced.
After an exciting day of competition, Armstrong claimed the victory, followed by Doveton in second place and Clarendon in third. Congratulations to all the teams!
A huge thank you goes out to all the staff who worked tirelessly throughout the day, measuring, recording, and keeping everything running smoothly. We’d also like to express our heartfelt appreciation to the parent volunteers for their amazing support and assistance. Finally, thank you to the parents, carers, and friends who came out to cheer on our students and make the day even more special.
What a fantastic event! Well done to all involved!
In exciting news, AFL Victoria have partnered with the Western Bulldogs to coordinate School Holiday Programs in Ballarat for the upcoming holidays.
Two programs, on Monday 7th April and Monday 14th April from 9am to 3pm at City Oval, Ballarat.
An action-packed day of footy activities, inflatables, giveaways & the Bulldogs mascots.
Auskick registrations for 4 to 7-year-old children. SuperKick registrations for 8 to 12-year-old children.
Girl’s groups available.
Participants of other supported clubs are most welcome also.
Monday 7th April 2025 & Monday 14th April 2025
School Holiday Programs - Ballarat
City Oval, 1431 Mair Street, Lake Wendouree
9am – 3pm
