8 May 2025

From the Principal – Liam Hackwood

Yaama Ngulum (Hello everyone), Term 2 has got off to a great start. I want to thank and acknowledge the work of Karen Herburg and Kellie Connell at the end of Term 1. In my absence, Karen stepped into the role of Acting Principal and Kellie came out of her Year 5 classroom and stepped into the role of Acting Deputy Principal. As predicted, both ladies did a tremendous job and I am grateful that the school was left in such strong, capable hands.

With one term behind us, I know our staff have hit the ground running this term to build upon the strong learning opportunities that were created in Term 1. As recent as last week, we had a Year 1 Excursion to the Caboolture Historical Village, our Year 4s had a maths incursion in the Hall and our Year 5s were on the basketball courts learning about being safe when travelling on the roads using a bike. This is what makes our school such a special place, plenty of opportunities for our students to learn outside of the classroom. I wish I had these amazing opportunities when I was at school myself!

Start to Term 2 and Welcome to our New Friends

This term we are currently sitting on about 1006 students enrolled at our school. At the end of the term, we farewelled Leanne Whelan from our school who has begun a new adventure on the Darling Downs. Leanne is a huge loss for our school and on behalf of all staff and students, we wish her all the very best in the future. In Leanne’s place we welcome Liezel Cawood-Crerar to 4E. Liezel is excited to be at our school and we give her a big MESS welcome. In the Engagement Teacher role, we also welcome Colette Bennet to our school. Colette comes to us with a wealth of experience and will do an excellent job. Finally I want to congratulate Alistair Watt who was successful with the recruitment of the Deputy Principal Student Engagement role within our school for the remainder of the year.

Teaching and Learning Update

On the first day of the term, we engaged in external moderation with Morayfield State School and Minimbah State School. Moderation is such an invaluable experience as it allows our teachers to look at student samples of work at different levels and compare the achievement levels from school to school. While we aim for consistency in judgement, it allows our teachers the opportunity to speak to colleagues in other schools and network. Our teachers are constantly learning, just like our students within the school and events such as external moderation certainly provide our staff with this wonderful opportunity.

This week, we have welcomed the staff of five other schools to participate in our Critical Friends Network session at MESS. This has involved in staff visiting up to 27 different classes as they speak to the students from across the school. We are keen to hear about feedback on student work as a focus. Therefore, these teachers and school leaders are looking at how we are going in this space and providing us with feedback. We then use this feedback to plan and prepare our next steps within the classroom. Again, it is wonderful to welcome close to 40 other staff into our classrooms and showcase the wonderful work of our staff.

Facilities and Upgrades

Over the Easter holidays, we had some significant works completed in our school. Landscaping has been completed between our two OSHC buildings and the result is quite spectacular. Outside of the Health Room, we have had some stairs installed for safety purposes and just down from the Health Room, the outside area of our Flexsipace has also had a makeover. Within the Hub, our Year 1/2 Flexispace also had a learning wall installed and this work was part of the Department’s Youth Reform project. Across the classrooms of our permanent blocks, walls were installed within the classroom with the removal of the old concertina doors. Some of our classrooms also had new carpet laid. For those parents and carers who knew H Block well, it has had quite the facelift in the last three months and our teachers are wrapped! We are still waiting to hear about a couple of projects within our school too and we will know more by the end of this term.

Volunteering and the P&C

Last week we had our April General Meeting. Since Covid, volunteers in the schools have most certainly taken a bit of a hit. I want to acknowledge that these days, parents and carers are very time poor. Our Tuckshop would love to see more volunteers along with our P&C too. If you are unsure of what you can give, please contact our school office and we can put you in touch with relevant people. Any contribution no matter how big or how small would be welcomed.

Parent Behaviour and Conduct

Recently I have had to remind some of our parents and carers about their conduct when on school grounds. I would like to make it very clear that at our school, or any school for that matter, there is no excuse for abuse. While we will never get everything right and there will be concerns that need to be raised at our school, we will be receptive to these concerns if they are raised in a respectful manner.

Truancy Focus

Towards the end of Term 1 and the start of Term 2, we have been working with our students on truancy. We have been contacting parents through SMS at the end of each day to inform parents if their child has left the classroom. For the safety of the students, it is imperative that we provide supervision of our students at school. When students leave an area of supervision without permission (Year 1-6 students) , this results in a consequence of missing a lunch break and spending it at the office. Your support in speaking to students about the importance of staying with their teachers would be greatly appreciated.

And finally…

This term we have so many events occurring inside the classroom and outside the classroom. Please play your part to stay up to date with what’s happening at the school. Our Facebook page is most certainly a great way to stay informed.

Yours in learning, Liam

Deputy News Prep – Natalie Arthur

It’s Term 2 and our students are starting to shine! We are so proud of our Preps.

This term our Prep students joined into their first whole school parade for our Anzac Day ceremony on Thursday 24 April. This is always a very moving occasion. Our youngest students impressed us all with their ability to position their wreaths, stand for a minute of silence and sing the National Anthem. Well done to all students.

Last week our Prep students attended their first Prep to 2 Assembly, which takes place each fortnight. Again, I was so proud of our students and the amazing work of our teachers, as students sat beautifully, stood for the National Anthem and bravely walked to the front of the Hall to receive awards. Well done to our Preppies and a BIG thank you to families for your support in attending these special events.

Awards

As we continue through the year, two students from each class will receive Academic and Behaviour Awards at each assembly and parents/carers will be notified in advance so they can attend if they’re able. By the end of the year, we aim for all students to be presented with awards.

In last week’s assembly, Prep A was awarded the Class of the Fortnight trophy
for both Music and P.E.

Congratulations Prep A!

We are always looking to recognise the achievements of our students and this term we commence our Reading Detective Awards for those students’ working hard to develop their PLD skills and early reading. Students chosen for awards will receive a book prize and certificate, presented by ‘Detective Arthur’ in their classrooms. Again, by the end of the year, we aim for all students to be awarded.

Classroom visits

Each week when I visit our Prep classrooms, I am excited to join into lessons and see the progress of our students. Last week all students were working hard during their PLD lessons and teachers had planned fun and engaging activities.

Prep G had a sound hunt in Mini’s Nature Play, where students moved around, explored the outdoors and practised their sounds at the same time!

Prep E students were learning to write their three letter CVC words, by identifying their sounds and blending them together. Prep A students commenced writing sentences using heart words and CVC words.

Prep B students were learning about the weather in science and the right clothing to choose and Prep D students were playing a game of ‘Beat the Bear’, while identifying the beginning sounds in words. Great work Preppies!

Some exciting events are coming up in our Prep calendar.

May 7 – 9                                Mother’s Day Stall (students can purchase gifts)
May 9                                      Prep Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea – 2.30pm in your child’s class.
May 13                                    Prep Excursion White Ridge Farm (PE, PF, PG) 
May 15                                    Prep Excursion White Ridge Farm (PA, PB, PC, PD)
May 22-23                              School Photo Days
May 23                                    Under 8s Day
May 27                                    Parent Info. Session and Open Day for 2026 Prep families
May 28                                    UQ Vision Screening
May 30                                    National Sorry Day
June 25                                   Prep - 2 MESS Athletics Carnival

Prep 2026 Enrolments have commenced

If you have a child born between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 then they are eligible for Prep in 2026.

To enrol, please contact our office staff and request an enrolment pack. Our staff can also book your enrolment interview. Details of our Prep 2026 Enrolment and Orientation Program are below.

News from Prep F

Prep F students have commenced their English unit of work which is centred around learning facts about farm animals in order for students to read and create an informative text. Students have been engaged in shared reading of informative (non-fiction) and imaginative (fiction) texts and have been making comparisons of these two different text types.

Literacy groups have had students creating their own informative texts (writing and drawing), drawing and labelling farm animals and making and describing animals’ crafts. We are very excited for our excursion to White Ridge Farm on Tuesday 13 May!

News from Prep G

Prep G has had a great start settling into Term 2! 😊 Our first week back we learnt all about ANZAC day, through reading stories, creating artworks, decorating poppy’s and working together to make an ANZAC Wreath for our schools ANZAC Parade. We even enjoyed some Anzac biscuits together! 😊

We have been working very hard in PLD practising our letter sounds and to blend and segment sounds in words. This term we have also started to learn to read and write new spelling words each week!

This term in Maths we have been investigating numbers and learning how to partition numbers to 10.

Deputy News Years 3 & 4 – Sue Clifton

Welcome back to another fun-filled term. It has been a joy to see the students come back to school, happy to see their friends and ready to get straight back into the routine of learning.  It was also wonderful to hear some of the exciting things that students and their families did together during the holidays.

Over the past 3 weeks students have commenced new units of work in all areas of the curriculum, participated in our school’s ANZAC ceremony and year 4 have attended an incursion. We have a busy term ahead of us with many exciting activities and events taking place.

Building respectful relationships

Parents and Carers play an important role in helping children and young people recognise healthy, respectful relationships.

Talking about interactions your family might see in the media and in everyday life, or regularly talking with your child about their friendships, can provide opportunities to positively influence their attitudes about respect.

Parents modelling how to respectfully disagree and encouraging your child to be aware of their feelings and the feelings of others is important at any age. Morayfield East State School supports our students to do this through the Reboot program. Teachers help students to co-regulate their emotions, before they are expected to know how to self-regulate their emotions.

World of Maths Incursion

Last week, students in year 4 had the opportunity to engage in a range of hands-on math activities and games that challenged their thinking and reinforced maths concepts. During the session, students analysed mathematical problems through investigation, comparison and reflection. They worked together in small groups to discuss and record possible answers.

Year 3

In 3A students are starting their English Unit on Informative writing. This week students have been learning about the Saltwater Crocodile. They have conducted research about the animal, practised turning dot points into sentences, drawn and labelled features of the animal, and finally written an informative text on the animal. They have also been doing lots of practise around writing compound sentences and students are looking forward to researching a new animal each week this term!

Across the past few weeks, students in 3E have begun looking at informative texts! They started investigating where they can find an informative text and what they look like. This week, students have focused on the Saltwater Crocodile! They have gathered key information from a source, planned and collaboratively written an engaging informative text. Students drew their own saltwater crocodile, being mindful to use the information gathered, to accurately portray its appearance!

Year 4

In English over the initial weeks of this this term, students in 4A have been learning the features of Informative Texts.  Whilst in Mathematics, the class has been exploring the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) including odd and even numbers.  It has been wonderful to see students so engrossed in their learning!

4E have continued with their daily routine of PLD in the classroom. Mrs C, alongside Mrs Gilbertson, worked with students whilst they moved through rotational activities of dictation, word webs and writing out their weekly spelling words, identifying letter and sound patterns.

Have a great week.
Sue Clifton
Deputy Principal

Deputy News Years 5 & 6 – Karen Herburg

What an exciting couple of weeks we have had.  There has been some fantastic teaching and learning in classes, and our students are working hard to be the best learners that they can be.

Year 5 and 6 Student Learning

This term in English, the Year 5 and 6 task is to:  read, view and comprehend information texts.  Our teachers take the time needed to unpack what the task is all about and help students to understand what each element means.  You will find in classrooms that this is a visual piece found on learning walls, and a great reference daily for students in supporting their understanding.

News from 6B

This week in 6B we have been busy getting stuck into the Term 2 Mathematics Curriculum.  We start with number properties and learn to solve problems using prime, composite and square numbers. Wherever possible we take a hands-on approach to learning and practice our new learnings through rotational games and ICT tools which target specific skills.   These rotations provide opportunity for teacher-led explicit instruction and/or intervention to assist targeted groups, as well as provide opportunities for students to develop their teamwork skills and shared knowledge. Certain rotations also allow students to work independently and help consolidate what they know.  In our rotations this week, students are playing a square numbers board game, they are building factor trees and are learning to classify prime and composite numbers on an electronic hundreds board.

Years 5 and 6 Hero Readers!

Reading to learn is an important life skill, and to become independent readers and to write successfully.  Our teachers engage their students in reading and writing stories for enjoyment, factual texts and to evaluate texts, issues and points of view.  Importantly, our teachers select and use texts in subject areas that the class is studying to teach skills in reading and writing.  This term on Assembly, we continue to celebrate the importance of reading with our Hero Readers Program.

Congratulations to all the students who receive a certificate and a beautiful new book for the incredible work in class.  You are being the best learners that you can be.  I look forward to celebrating Hero Reader students every fortnight.

Student Engagement and Wellbeing Survey

Over the past week, our Year 5 and 6 students have been engaging in the Student Engagement and Wellbeing Survey.  I had the pleasure of spending time in Mr Cope’s 6A classroom, whilst students conducted the survey.  Mr Cope went through each question with the students, so they had a better understanding of what was being asked of them.  Well done Mr Cope, and students for such great work in this space.

Lunchtime Clubs

As we move through the term, a number of Lunchtime Clubs will be happening for our students.  Check – out the timetable below to showcase some of the new activities that students can enjoy at playtime.  I look forward to seeing the kids enjoying some social activities together.

Welcome Ms McPhee

Ms McPhee will be the teacher in 5C replacing Mrs Rac for the next three weeks, whilst Mrs Rac is on long service leave.  I would like to welcome Miss McPhee to the class who I know is excited to be working with the students over this time.  Ms McPhee had the opportunity to spend some time with the students already, and I know that all the students in 5C are in very good hands. 

Musical Rehearsals

Musical rehearsals are well underway with Music Teacher, Mr Goldsmith and Ms Stiponovic.  I am looking forward to seeing our students shine bright at this year’s musical; I know that we have some very talented kids.  If you are a parent of a student in the musical, please ensure that they are attending school rehearsals.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Goldsmith or Ms Stiponovic.

Year 5 Camp

A reminder to all parents and carers that our first ever Year 5 Camp is happening this year.  Year 5 students will be participating in a 3 day camp at the Apex Queensland Youth Camp, Twin Waters.  The aim of the camp is to engage our students in a range of activities and challenges, that build their social skills, foster teamwork, resilience, and a love for the outdoors.  We are looking forward to sharing this amazing time with our students.  If you have not already, please ensure you have a camp note, if not, there are copies in the office that you can collect.  The dates of camp are Monday 8 September to Wednesday 10 September 2025.

Winter is coming!

Winter is definitely on its way.  Please make sure that all children are wearing the appropriate winter school uniform.  A maroon jumper or senior jacket is suitable; students should not be wearing different coloured jumpers or hoodies.  If this presents any concerns for families, please do not hesitate to contact me.  Whilst all students should be following the school’s uniform policy, we also want to ensure that all our students are warm during the cold days.

Until next time ….. 😊

Date Claimers

Student Engagement – Alistair Watt

Term 1 Prep-Yr2 Walking Club Winners

Congratulations to the term 1 Walking Club winners. A reminder that walking club is on the oval every morning starting at 8:15am. Students should remember to bring their QR code each morning to ensure that their laps are counted each day.

Prep

1^st: Isobel – 121 laps
2^nd: 77 laps
3^rd: Willow – 50 laps

Year 1

1^st: Jasmine 76 laps
2^nd: Hunter – 68 laps
3^rd: Luca – 34 laps

Year 2

1^st: Chris & Maggie – 133 laps
2^nd: Olivia – 80 laps
3^rd: James – 75 laps

P&C News

Welcome to Term Two, Morayfield East Families and Friends!

What an amazing start it has been this year at Morayfield East State School! The P&C would like to extend a huge thankyou to our incredible school community for supporting and participating in our first of many fantastic events: the School Disco, Minecraft Movie Night and the Democracy Sausage Sizzle.

The school Disco was an absolute hit! It was full of music, dancing, food and lots of fun! Thank you to our team of teachers and volunteers for their hard work on the night to keep things running as smoothly as possible. A special shoutout to Super Butchers for donating the sausages for the evening.

The Minecraft Movie Night brought many of our school families and community members together for a shared night of laughter and fun. It went so well that we have organised another one for later this Term to see Lilo & Stitch so keep an eye out for that and get your tickets now on QKR!

Finally, this weekend just gone, we held a Democracy Sausage Sizzle on election day. It was a great success, and we would like to thank all those who volunteered their time on the day, we could not have done it without you. A special shoutout goes to Hook’d On Seafood and Woolworths Morayshire for donating sausages, drinks and bread, as well as Lynda Jacobson who donated muffins and slices.

None of these events could have happened without the time, energy, and enthusiasm of our wonderful volunteers. Whether you baked muffins, flipped a sausage, or stayed late to sweep floors — we see you and we appreciate you!

Let’s keep this momentum going! Keep an eye out for future events and if you would like to get involved, we’d love you hear from you so drop us an email at pandc@morayfieldeastss.eq.edu.au.

Our next meeting will be on Monday 19th of May at 3:15pm in the conference room in the school hall. All are welcome to attend, including your kids. These meetings are a great way to understand what is happening and connect in with other parents who are passionate about the school and its community.

Warm Regards,
The MESS P&C

News from the Tuckshop

Paper bag orders can be placed at the tuckshop before school, or you can use the QKR App if you wish to order online.

QKR is a convenient way to order food, uniforms, sports shirts and purchase tickets for discos and other P&C events. If you need assistance using QKR, please see Katie at the tuckshop.

QKR online cut off time is 8.30am. (If you are halfway through an order at 8.30am it will not work! You will need to come into the school or ring up. If there is no answer in the morning before school (especially Friday) you will need to come in!)

PLEASE NOTE: If orders are made over the phone or after 9am, only the sandwich package will be available. This includes a sandwich (choice of one of the following Cheese, Vegemite or Jam), an apple, popper or water and an ice block for $7

There are no over-the-counter sales for 1st break, these must be pre-ordered. Students can purchase drinks and ice creams as normal at 2nd break.

If you have any questions regarding the tuckshop, please contact Katie on 5428 8423.

Katie, Chrissy and Kristen are our awesome tuckshop workers who all do an amazing job of making sure the orders go out fresh and on time, but they are always in need of extra hands! If you can help out any day at any time even just for an hour please let Katie know. If you volunteer for four hours in one day you will receive a $10 credit in the tuckshop for your child.

When you are volunteering, please ensure that you sign in and out of the main office before and after each shift.  Before commencing your first shift you will need to complete the Parent and Community Volunteer Policy paperwork, available at the office.

News from Scott Goldsmith – Music

Guitar and Keyboard Before School Music has resumed on both Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Please be on time at 8:15 ready to start with your music!

Musical Update:

Kylie and Jason are on holidays at the beach with their parents when things don’t go exactly as you would expect. See what happens as this sibling rivalry heats up!

Rehearsals are well under way and with a few last minute adjustments to our cast, it is full steam ahead.

Those students who have joined the cast and chorus this term should ensure that they know when rehearsals are so they turn up on time.

Students who have put themselves forward for the crew will be contacted by Mr Goldsmith as to whether you have been successful in joining and what duties you will be performing to keep our show rolling along!

The most important information for our school community is of course the performance dates which are Monday 4 August and Tuesday 5 August 2025 (evening performances) so lock in the dates onto your calendar now!

News from the Office

School Photos

Please be reminded that school photos will be taken on Thursday 22 May and Friday 23 May. Forms will be sent home this week and if you are after a sibling envelope these are available from the school office. A timetable will be posted on facebook closer to the date. Please see the attached flyer for any ordering questions.

Japanese Club Activities

Konnichi wa,

This term’s J Club activities kicked off on Thursday with some origami to mark a significant calendar even in Japan.   I was delighted to have the Languages Captain Brayden assist in some origami for Children’s Day Festival in Japan which is celebrated on Monday the 5th May.    Classes from years 4 – 6 will be engaging in a collaborative project to celebrate this yearly event over the next few weeks. I look forward to J Club next week.

Sayonara

ANZAC DISPLAY – LIBRARY

Below is the beautiful book displays that Sharon Hooper did for Anzac Day.  It was really nice to read some of these fabulous books to our students. There is also a pic of 5E reading the stories of the ANZACS in the hall.

News from the Health Room

Community News