13 February 2025

From the Principal –Liam Hackwood

Yaama Ngulum (Hello everyone), welcome to 2025. I am so excited for the year ahead. With nearly 17 new teachers at our school, we have had such a strong start to the year and got to know our new staff very quickly. I know that as you get older the years apparently go quicker, but I did not expect this school year to have gone this quickly already. We have started with our largest Prep cohort ever at the school with over 160 little Preppies. At the top end of the school, our Year 6 numbers are also high.

It is going to be a brilliant year at MESS. We have some exciting events planned, even some new events across our calendar including a Year 5 camp! Not to mention building upon the success of last year’s first ever swimming carnival to go again later in the year. So buckle in and get ready for a wonderful year of learning at MESS for 2025. I cannot wait for our staff to bring so much joy, happiness and first-class learning with your children this year!

Welcome to all of our New Families and Staff

We welcome many new families to our school this year. Even when driving around the area, it is clear to see that there is so much development occurring within our catchment area. Seeing so many new families walking in through our gates is very exciting and I do hope that our new families have been made to feel very welcome across the school. As previously mentioned, this is also the case for our new staff. New staff bring new ideas and ways of working which can allow us to again look at things differently and implement new ways of working across our school.

Day 8 Enrolment Numbers

As I mentioned earlier, our numbers are in as part of our Day 8 census numbers. Our numbers across the school are as follows:

Prep – 161 (7 classes)
Year 1 – 141 (6 classes)
Year 2 – 146 (6 classes)
Year 3 – 129 (6 classes)
Year 4 – 138 (5 classes)
Year 5 – 128 (5 classes)
Year 6 – 156 (6 classes)

This totals 41 classes across the school. Our final numbers have come in at 999 students, just short of the 1000. I am confident that we will surpass the 1000 students this term.

Carparking and Supporting Each Other

As per my previous emails this year, I am asking for patience with carparking, especially at the start of the year. Everyone can help and support by simply planning ahead, having some patience and following the road rules. Acceptance in knowing that peak times, specifically the end of the day, means that there will have to be give and take with different situations that occur. As a school, we do not have any jurisdiction over the carpark. Our staff are simply out there to provide an additional layer of support for our students.

I have been alerted that some parents have been smoking and vaping in the carpark. A reminder that this conduct is illegal and for parents and carers to please ensure that these rules and expectations are adhered to. Ultimately, as the adults, we have a responsibility as staff and as parents to ensure that we keep our kids safe.

Teaching and Learning along with Parent Teacher Interviews

While we are only three weeks into the term, this is the first year that we are implementing the new Australian Curriculum across English and Maths. I know that our teachers have been working incredibly hard already to provide quality learning in all of our classrooms. This year, we are going to continue working with other schools too. This started in our Student Free Days when we worked with Morayfield and Minimbah State School. Our teachers are just like our own students, constantly learning and wanting to improve. We can do this both inside and outside the gate. All parents and carers will have an opportunity in Week 5 to discuss with their teacher how their child/ren’s start to the year has gone at our Parent Teacher Interviews. Look out for all of the relevant information to book your time.

Facilities Updates

We have had some significant work occur over the holidays. H Block (Years 5&6) have had gotten new carpet, new furniture and a paint job. It looks amazing in H Block and this is its first upgrade since it was built! F Block had a new roof installed over the holidays too. We are currently looking at an upgrade of our outdoor space near Camp Australia, along with our Inclusion Hub. I want to publicly acknowledge our School’s Facilities Officers, Tom and James who have been outstanding in keeping our school looking so amazing over the holidays. We are so lucky that we have these two guys on staff!

MESS Flexispace

Later in this edition, I invite you to review Alistair Watt’s section of the newsletter as he discusses the MESS Flexispace initiative for 2025. This is huge news for our school as we are the only State Primary School in the Metropolitan North  Region. I am delighted that this space will further support our students in our school and I am looking forward to see how successful it can be within our school.

Reminder about Dr Hemen on site

Dr Hemen’s Tuesdays have been getting busier and busier at MESS. I am so pleased to see many of our families are taking the opportunity to book their child in to see Dr Hemen every Tuesday. If you are keen to make an appointment for your child, please do so at gp@morayfieldeastss.eq.edu.au

P&C AGM

On Monday, we will have our 2025 AGM and our February General Meeting. All Executive positions will be vacated and called. I invite parents and carers to come along on Monday 3:30pm in our School Hall. Our P&C play such an integral role in our school and I would be delighted to see as many parents and carers there on Monday. Earlier this week, I emailed parents and carers with nomination forms for our P&C.

Strategic Focus for 2025

This year, we will be having a sharp and narrow focus on our Synthetic Phonics Program (PLD) and how we give Feedback to our students in the classroom. I firmly believe that with these two strategic improvement priorities, we will most certainly see improvement with our students and their learning. I will be looking to have our school’s Annual Implementation Plan to be signed off by the end of February.

And Finally…

Our school is a great place to be. It is our responsibility as a staff to support you and your child/ren with the best education we can possibly provide. After working with our staff, I know that they will be relentless in this quest. While we will not always get everything right, we will always reflect and learn from the situations presented in front of us. Let’s together have a fabulous 2025. Your child, our student, one team!

Yours in learning, Liam

Deputy News Prep – Natalie Arthur

Term 1 is off to a great start…

It’s wonderful to have our new Preps finally here for their first official year of Primary School.

Students have been busy meeting their teachers and teacher aides and familiarising with school routines. They have been exploring playgrounds, learning to wear their hats, building confidence when using the obstacle course and are starting to feel more comfortable in their classrooms.

Some amazing learning has been taking place over the past two weeks. Students have been learning to:

• sit on the carpet and then move to their tables.
• use their words when they need help.
• line up after play
• put their bags, fruit break and water bottles in the right place.
• visit the bathroom without getting

… and so much more.

I’ve been excited to see students learning to write their names, learning their first sounds, and listening to their teachers when moving around the school. There has been so much progress made already and our Preps have only been at school for two weeks!

Fine Motor Skills

During Week 2 our Preps commenced their fine motor program, being run by our school-based OT Ms Courtney. During these weekly lessons students will develop their fine motor skills in a variety of ways and develop greater strength, which in turn supports the development of handwriting skills. Activities in Week 2 including threading shapes through fabric, finding beads hidden in slime, and rolling and shaping playdoh. Students also learnt that ‘tummy time’ during activities helps to make their backs nice and strong.

News from Prep A with Mrs Kay

What a wonderful start to our school year we have had!

In Prep A we have already started learning our phonics sounds, learning how to form numbers and letters, lots of fine-motor activities, we’ve had fun with some messy play and we’re learning how to be a learner. A real highlight has been listening to our favourite stories and seeing how confident students have been to stand up in front of their friends and speak.

It has been delightful getting to know Prep A over the last two weeks and we can't wait to spend an exciting and fun-filled year together. Keep shining Prep A!

News from Prep D with Ms Sims

In our first two weeks of school, Prep D have been busy learning about sorting and counting collections in Maths. We have also been learning our letter sounds and corresponding actions through sensory play. Learning is so much fun!

Free Prep Vision Screening

Please speak to your classroom teacher or office staff for help completing the online consent form, if needed. 

Deputy News Years 3 & 4 – Sue Clifton

A most warm welcome to the 2025 school year!

As the Deputy Principal of year 3 & 4, I have the pleasure of leading and working alongside our amazing Year 3 and Year 4 team.

The importance of a classroom teacher building strong relationships with students cannot be underestimated, and it is highly evident that this has been at the forefront in these first few weeks of school. Learning has already started; classes are calm and most students are engaged and focused.

To help make this a successful year for your child, lines of communication need to be kept open. Your first port-of-call for all contacts is your child’s class teacher, who will provide you with their email address and set you up on their class contact email list. It is important to remember that before and after school are not optimal times to try and discuss issues with class teachers as they will be busily preparing for a full day of learning and often have meetings to attend. Once the bell rings, teachers have a duty of care for the supervision of each child in their class and will no longer be available to talk with parents to ensure they are able to effectively supervise all children.

We have our lovely Mrs Dunleavy as our wonderful Indigenous teacher aide again in the Murri Club room, welcoming students who come to visit and have some fun. Murri Club is open for all students on Wednesdays and Thursdays and this year Murri Club is located in D Block. There is a range of amazing activities that students can engage with – music, storytelling, art and craft, videos and lots more fun things. Our Murri Dancers have also started with their dance routines and will practice each Tuesday during first break.

Wheelie Wise Program

Thomas and Kit from the PCYC have been working with our year 4 students to improve their road safety. Students have been having fun competing in relay races with peers whilst developing their skills in handling the bikes and scooters.

Year 3

In 3A students have been learning about data. This week they have been practising making questions, collecting data, and graphing data. Students have enjoyed finding out their classes favourite ice cream flavour, how we travel to school, and their favourite tuck shop item to order.

In Mr McCarthy’s class, students have been working on simple and compound sentences. Students had to reconstruct chopped up sentences and then, using highlighters, identified the nouns and verbs.

In 3E, students are looking at data! They are working towards understanding different ways data can be collected and the ways it can be shared through tally marks and graphs. They have focussed on collecting data through asking their peers what their favourite pizza topping was and recorded the data after collection. Students also enjoyed a hands-on approach to collecting and sorting data through the use of skittles! They looked at the different colours individual packets had and how many they had all together, and again recorded the data using tally marks!

Year 4

This week, students in 4A have been working really hard on their learning and meeting classroom expectations.  For Positive Culture for Learning (PCL), they learnt coping skills to self-regulate and what it means to be self-regulated. 

In Promoting Literacy Development (PLD), students learnt about split diagraphs, specifically a_e and i_e.  For English, students have been learning about movie reviews, how to share and extend ideas and creating clear and coherent texts. 

Here are some smiling 4A faces displaying their favourite works from the week…

I am looking forward to seeing the wonderful work taking place in classrooms across the next few weeks.

Have a great week
Sue Clifton

Deputy News Years 5 & 6 – Karen Herburg

Welcome back to our fabulous students and school community to the beginning of a new school year!  Firstly, what an absolute pleasure it has been for me to see our brand-new Year 5 and 6 students ‘rock up’ to school excited and ready for a new term.  I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all new families to this wonderful school community.

Our Senior students look AMAZING in their Senior shirts and I can see they are all wearing them with such pride.  Year 5 and 6 students have settled extremely well into their new classes with new teachers and already working hard in learning.  We have a very busy term ahead and I look forward to working closely with our students, teachers and families.

This week, teachers have introduced the curriculum for the term while steadily increasing student’s stamina to ensure they can work effectively through full school days. This will continue over the next few weeks.  You should have received a welcome email from your child’s teacher and letting you know the curriculum overview for the term.

Flag Protocols

This year our Year 6 students will be learning about flag protocols.  This has been led by our Year 6 teacher Mr Cope, who has been teaching the students the importance of our flags and how they should be used with respect and dignity and why.  Students will take responsibility for raising and lowering the flags at different times throughout the year.  The protocols they learn will assist them in flying or using the flags, including as part of flag-raising ceremonies.

Year 6 Camp – Gold Coast Recreation Centre

Camp is coming around very quickly.  Camp dates are 17 to 19 March 2025 with payment required by 7 March.  If you have not yet sent your forms back to the office, please get this done asap.  If you are not sending your child on camp, please notify the school.

Year 6 Leadership Induction Ceremony

On Wednesday 19 February 2025, 9.15 am in the hall, we will be holding our Leadership Induction Ceremony, where Senior Leaders, Captains and Student Councillors will be receiving their badges.  We hope to see you there.  I look forward to working closely with these students throughout the year.

Positive Culture for Learning

We are a Positive Culture for Learning (PCL) school and instil in the students our school expectations of learning; Be a Learner, Be Respectful, Be Safe and Responsible.  We believe in the importance of building relationships between teachers, students, and parents.  If you are having any concerns with your child, please get in touch with your teacher and have a chat.  Problems that arise, can often be sorted quickly.  Each week we work with our students on a PCL lesson.  This week is all about ‘How I Use Self Control’. 

Classrooms in the Spotlight!

A Strong Start for 5A!

The year is off to a fantastic start for 5A! We’ve been busy getting to know each other, settling into class routines, and diving into our curriculum. As this is a transition year, students are beginning to embrace their roles as school leaders, stepping up with responsibility and confidence.

In science, our focus on adaptations feels especially fitting as we navigate our own changes and growth. We’re also honing our ability to express opinions based on facts, exploring various texts, and preparing to share our insights through podcast creation. While this may feel daunting for some, especially those who are naturally more reserved, we’re all pushing ourselves to grow and succeed.

I’m excited to see—and hear—the amazing results ahead!

Craig Caswell
Teacher 5A

A fresh start with new desks and a lovely rug to meet on.

5E

5E have been working on animal adaptations in science and looking at camouflage.  We created some amazing camouflage art!

We are also learning how to self regulate our emotions with neurographic art.

6D

Students in 6D have settled in beautifully since returning from the Christmas break, showing enthusiasm and focus in their learning, as well as a strong focus around our classroom rules - Respect and Kindness.

We’re starting the year strong with PLD (Promoting Literacy Development), helping students build solid literacy skills through structured lessons and activities. In English, we have been exploring how different language features, text structures and themes shape meaning in texts. 

In Mathematics, we’ve been working with integers, learning about positive and negative numbers in real-world contexts. Students have also been sharpening their times tables recall, using fun challenges to build speed and confidence.

It’s been a fantastic start to the year, and we look forward to seeing even more progress in the weeks ahead!

Again, welcome to what I am sure will be a wonderful term and memorable year!  Please remember, if you need to speak with me at any time my door is always open.  Call the office and book in a time if you need to have a chat!

Karen Herburg
Deputy Principal

Date Claimers

Student Engagement – Alistair Watt

An exciting new opportunity is commencing shortly at Morayfield East State School with the FlexiSpace opening in week 5. The FlexiSpace is an innovative program designed to help keep students engaged, learning and achieving at school. There will be 3 classes (1/2, 3/4 and 5/6) situated in newly refurbished rooms in G block with approximately 10-12 students in each class. The Student Engagement teachers and Deputy Principal are currently collating a list of students and will communicate with parents in week 4.

A FlexiSpace is an inclusive, high-quality, flexible learning environment embedded within a school, that provides differentiated teaching and learning for students experiencing challenges.

FlexiSpace is:

• A resource to help engage and retain students at school
• High quality, purpose-built physical space, designed to provide flexible learning opportunities
• A differentiated environment for students who are struggling in a mainstream class or struggling to attend school

Walking Club

Walking club has commenced and is on every morning starting at 8:15am. When students arrive at school they can go to their designated line up areas or head to the oval to participate in walking club. Each student is provided with a QR code that they scan each time they complete a lap. A tally is then kept for each student with a weekly leader board displayed on Wednesday mornings and prizes presented to the top 3 students in each grade at the end of the term.

Head of Department Year 3 - 6 – Bronwyn Foster

NAPLAN News

NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are already learning at school. On its own, NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for, and students are not expected to do so. NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process – it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance. However, students and parents may use individual results to discuss progress with teachers. Visit the parents and carers page on the NAP website and/or view the NAPLAN information brochure for parents and carers attached to this newsletter. Visit the public demonstration site page to see the format of the tests. This is the third year NAPLAN will be held in March, having previously taken place in May. This change was made so school systems would have access to results earlier in the school year and can use them to inform teaching and learning plans for the remainder of the year.

In the coming weeks we will be providing further information and communication about our processes for conducting the tests.

If you have any questions or concerns at this time, please don’t hesitate to contact your class teacher.

Parent Teacher interviews – Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 February 2025

Earlier this week we provided an information letter regarding our upcoming Parent Teacher interviews. Of particular note this year is the earlier timing of these interviews. Interviews have been scheduled to run across Tuesday 25 (primarily Yr 3-6) and Wednesday 26 February (primarily Prep – Yr 2). Refer to your letter for specific interview times provided by your teacher. Our preferred method of booking an interview is via the online booking system previously known as PTO (Parent Teacher Online). There have been recent updates to this which includes a name change to Booked, however the process remains the same.

We encourage all parents to participate in an interview with their teacher but acknowledge that our scheduled interview day/s may not always be suitable. Please contact your class teacher directly if you need to organise an alternate interview time.

Road Safety

News from Sensei

Konnichiwa.
Dear Parents/Caregivers

Japanese lessons are off to a great start with the year’s 4 to 6 students at MESS.

Years 5 & 6

The Year 5/6 students are diving into a Sports Unit and I wanted to give you an overview of what your child will be exploring over the next few weeks. 

This unit will allow the students to engage with the vocabulary, phrases, and cultural aspects surrounding sports in Japan. We’ll be focusing on the names of popular sports, key action verbs, and the vocabulary used during games and competitions. Additionally, we will discuss the significance of sports in Japanese culture, such as traditional games and the spirit of teamwork and discipline emphasized in many sports.

In the coming weeks, we will also incorporate interactive activities such as role-playing, vocabulary games, and mini sports-related tasks, making the learning experience fun and engaging. The students will have the opportunity to practice their Japanese while exploring something they are likely passionate about! 

Last year’s Japanese Cultural Days were a huge success, thanks to the enthusiastic participation and curiosity of our students! We explored a variety of aspects of Japanese culture, including traditional arts, food, and customs. The students actively engaged in hands-on activities such as origami, calligraphy, and even tasting Japanese snacks. I look forward to more exciting cultural experiences and activities this year.

Year 4

Year 4 students will be participating in Japanese classes in Semester 1, engaging in a unit of work about aspects of school life in Japan. They will explore school culture, traditional customs and common classroom activities and learn how to ask and give information about classroom items through interactions with their peers.

Japanese Classroom

I wanted to inform you that while I don't have a classroom set up just yet, I anticipate that it won’t be too long before I have a dedicated Japanese space to teach. Currently I am going to each class to deliver Japanese lessons, however I am looking forward to creating a welcoming space for all my classes soon.

Sayonara
Mrs Fraser (A.K.A- Sensei)

News from the Health Room

Hello Parents/Caregivers,

Student medical information

Could you please notify the Health Room if your child has been recently diagnosed with a new health condition or their existing condition has changed.

If your student has been diagnosed with Asthma, Anaphylaxis or Allergies we require a current Action Plan (this plan is provided by your GP or Specialist) as well as the prescribed medication.  For more information on Allergies and Asthma please visit Queensland Government website.

Medication Administration at School

For medication to be administered at school, there must be medical authorisation for the student to have that medication. This can be in the form of a Medication Order, Asthma Action Plan, Anaphylaxis Action Plan, Action Plan for Allergic Reactions, Diabetes Action Plan, Young Persons Seizure Emergency (and Midazolam) Instruction and written instructions from a prescribing health practitioner for routine medications. This includes over the counter medications such as Panadol, nasal sprays and lozenges.

The information for parents/carers and Health Practitioners sheet provides advice for parents/carers and their child’s health practitioner regarding the documentation required for Queensland state schools to safely administer medication to students while they are at school or school-related activities.

The parent/carer must also complete the Consent to administer medication form. All medication must be in its original packaging, with an attached pharmacy label (containing both the student’s and Drs name, administration time)

If you would like to chat with the Health Room staff regarding the administration of medication, please call 54 288 446

Community News

Casual School Crossing Supervisor – Position Vacant

A position exists for a Casual School Crossing Supervisor at Burpengary, Morayfield, Caboolture and Wamuran areas.

• A School Crossing Supervisor must be able to work in all-weather conditions,
• Maximum of up to 1 hour and 30 mins per day - a maximum of up to 5 days per week (on a rostered basis).
• Relief opportunities on your rostered days off.
• Pay Rate $37.10 per hour.

Commencement of employment for the successful applicant is dependent on:

• The favourable outcome of a health assessment.
• A Positive Notice Blue Card (you do not need to have a blue card to apply for the position).
• Applications are available from the School Administration

Kangaroo Bus Lines 2025 Bus Travel

Sports flyers

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