Dear Macgregor Community

It’s been a busy few weeks with lots of fabulous learning happening across the school. Yesterday was Harmony Day and we celebrated cultural diversity within our school community. We are proudly multicultural and I continue to be impressed by the inclusivity and respect we demonstrate for each other at Macgregor. It was amazing to see everyone in their cultural and orange clothing, sharing the message that we all belong. Macgregor’s Principal position has been advertised and is currently in process. The newly appointed Principal will begin their substantive role at the beginning of Term 2. I will let the community know more once the process has been completed and a decision has been made. Please read on to find out more about happenings in and around the school.

PBL On Track System

In the last newsletter we shared some information about our whole school positive recognition system and individual student rewards. We are also implementing a new ‘On Track’ System to promote positive student behaviour in classroom settings. The ‘On Track’ system’ is based on a foundation of positive relationships and mutual respect and supports students to “stay on track” or “get back on track” with their learning. 

The “On Track’ system is made up of three distinct steps, ‘Low Key Responses’, ‘Choice’ and ‘Reflection’. To keep students on track teachers will use a number of ‘Low Key Responses’ to remind students of our expectations. These low key responses allow the teacher to keep teaching and support all students to increase their focus on learning. When student behaviour begins to impact on lessons, teachers will move to the next step of ‘Choice’. This gives students the chance to get back on track by making  better decisions. For example a teacher might say, “You can choose to sit quietly on the floor, or choose to sit quietly at ‘Reflection’”. All the student needs to do at this stage is choose the right behaviour and get back on track. If the student continues to not follow class expectations, the teacher will say, “Choice made, moving please” and the student will transition to ‘Reflection’. This will look different, depending on the situation. ‘Reflection’ might be in the class, another classroom or (if it’s a bigger problem) it might be in an office. During this time students are asked to reflect on their choices, and teachers will follow up with targeted conversations. Depending on the situation, the teacher may choose to skip steps or adapt the system to respond to the individual needs of a student. This initiative is just another way we are working with the students and school community to enhance our positive learning culture.

Writing at Macgregor

In previous newsletters Jodie Rowell (Deputy Principal) has shared information about The Science of Reading, the Simple view of reading, 5 Big Ideas, The Reading Rope and early years reading and spelling instruction. In this newsletter, it’s time to look at writing in more detail. Writing allows us to communicate, learn, share, connect, tell stories, create other worlds, express ourselves, explore who we are, document and preserve experiences and histories, inform, influence and persuade. The research tells us that:

·         Writing about what we learn helps us understand and remember

·         Writing about what we read boosts understanding

·         Writing improves reading and reading improves writing

·         Poor handwriting and spelling can hinder the writing process.

Writing is highly complex and requires students to encode (spell words as they write), hold information in their working memory as they put ideas together, draw on background knowledge, draw on vocabulary knowledge, consider structure, use punctuation to enhance meaning and make decisions as an author to ensure their writing conveys the message they want.

So what does this look like in the classroom?

·         I do, we do, you do – teachers provide scaffolding by showing quality examples of writing and producing writing with students prior to them doing their own writing

·         More time spent writing about what we learn, what we read, and what we do

·         Integrated instruction across curriculum areas

·         Time dedicated to explicit teaching of writing

·         Time dedicated to spelling and handwriting instruction - improved handwriting and spelling positively affects quality, length and fluency of writing

·         A balance of sentence level explicit instruction, grammar and punctuation explicit instruction and composition time.

Assessment of writing is also a complex process. Teachers look for specific elements in student writing (guided by Australian Curriculum). To finish off I’ve provided some examples of at level writing below. These come from Australian Curriculum.

In this example of year one, at level writing, the teacher is looking for how the student makes connections to personal experiences, uses full stops and capital letters for sentence boundaries, produces a series of accurate sentences to present information, writes legibly with correctly formed upper and lower case letters, spells words with regular spelling patterns.

These are all part of the explicit teaching that would be occurring in the classroom.

Bushfires

Fire. Our most useful tool in everyday life, we use it to cook, for warmth and to craft but out of control a wildfire or bushfire is the deadliest force on the planet. With three essential requirements heat, oxygen and fuel a bushfire with the correct conditions can be nearly impossible to fight.  Bushfires can cause destruction killing millions of animals and thousands of human lives. Leaving nothing behind as it devours anything in its path, but all is not lost as a bushfire has many positive effects that can help out as well.

There are a variety of fires in the environment such as: bushfires, crown fires and surface fires, which can have various causes.  With the many ways a fire can start the most common cause of a bushfire is lightning, with 50% of cases starting in this way.  Arson on the other hand is less common with only 15%  of bushfire starting this way.  Other causes include: cooking accidents or a gas leakage and so on.  Alternatively we can stop a bushfire or any fire just by simply removing the three key elements, heat, oxygen and fuel.

Wildfires have many negative effects on the environment and ourselves, they can kill and harm millions of animals forcing them to look for a new home. They leave hundreds of people homeless and open up areas for weeds and feral animal takeovers. This can  cause native animals and plants to decrease in population.

On the other hand bushfires have many beneficial effects for the environment, such as cracking seed coats that need heat to open opening opportunities for it to grow.  They create ash which is a natural fertiliser for the soil and can trigger germination. Seeds land softly into the soil and grow healthily into a tree or a plant.  It encourages new growth for plants and create holes and small dents in trees providing new homes for animals after it has burned previous homes.

Fire has been used for more than 60 000 years and Indigenous People used fire as a tool for many generations.  They use it for ceremonies to pay respect to the country. Aboriginal People would burn leaves and bark to prevent larger fires, a strategy now known, as back burning.  By burning patches of grass, this encouraged new growth and attracted animals which were then hunted for their meat and fur.  They also knew that ash was a natural fertiliser and burned extra fuel for ash and would use that for their crops.  The Indigenous people have been using fire for years and we have learnt a lot from them.

So how do we prevent and minimise the risk and prevent bushfires? Well, we have been doing it for years, take out one of the essential elements of a fire: oxygen, fuel and heat.  A strategy that we have been using was back burning.  We would burn sections of fuel in the winter before summer or the bushfire seasons.  This minimises the chance of a bushfire occurring and will help out while our firefighters are fighting it.  When combating fire, professionals use water a natural enemy of fire to reduce the heat, eventually putting it out.  These are all ways we have minimised and prevented bushfires for years.

In conclusion, bushfires can be both very helpful to the environment but can be very destructive. Fire has been used for over 60 000 years and our traditional land owners have used fire for tens of thousands of years yet we still struggle to control this element.

In this at level, year 5 example the teacher looks at how students draw on precise vocabulary, writes a clear first sentence to introduce the main idea, organises ideas in paragraphs, uses supporting detail, expands on information adding depth and breadth, uses author devices such as rhetorical questions, uses colons correctly, selects appropriate images to support the written information.

I look forward to seeing you in and around the school.

Bye for now,

Chris Shaddock

Principal

Dates to remember 

• 24 March: Easter egg  hunt 

• 26 March: SSACT Swimming carnival 

• 4 April: ACT Girls chess 

• 8 April: Cross country 

• 29 April: Student Free Day 

• 30 April: First day of Term 2

• 6 May: Year 5 Camp 

• 28 and 30 May: Photo Day

Spotlight on Staff 

Spotlight on Learning - Year One

Spotlight on Sport 

Only 2 more days til our Easter Egg fundraiser! Use the link below to grab your tickets https://www.trybooking.com/CPYJW 

School Photo day 

Green Team's Gardening Guardianship 

The Green Team has been busier than ever, embracing their role as guardians of our school's natural beauty and biodiversity! With wheelbarrows in tow, they've been on a mission to support our eco-system by moving multiple loads of nutrient-rich mulch. This essential task not only aids in the growth and repair of our grounds but also provides a nourishing foundation for our precious garden beds to flourish.

But that's not all – our dedicated Green Team members haven't forgotten their roots! They've been diligently tending to our plants, ensuring they receive the hydration they need to thrive. Additionally, their commitment to maintaining the cleanliness of our school knows no bounds, as they continue to pick up rubbish and keep our campus pristine.

It's truly heartwarming to witness the passion and dedication of our Green Team members week after week. Their tireless efforts are a testament to their love for our legendary school and their unwavering commitment to making it an even better place. Let's all take a moment to applaud their hard work and celebrate the positive impact they're making on our environment. Keep shining, Green Team! Many thanks from our Youth Worker Corey!!! 

Corey our Green Team Coordinator has been collaborating with the Sustainable Schools Program, which brought a horticulturist (Tracey) to assess our biodiverse school grounds. Together with Tracey, they've been collecting data to guide our future plans & understand our school environment. Thanks to Corey & Tracey for their dedication to making our school greener!

Bike Club Adventures!

Thursday and Friday Bike Clubs have been on an exciting journey, mastering their bike skills and embracing new challenges with enthusiasm! From honing their understanding of road rules and safe crossing practices to pushing the limits with thrilling jumps and ramps, our young cyclists have been broadening their horizons in every pedal stroke. 

With guidance from our dedicated instructors (Corey, Mr Gibson & Supporting LSA's Tim & Tane), they've tackled hills with finesse, crossed creeks with confidence, and even dared to roll down a few stairs for the thrill of it! It's been many weeks filled with laughter, learning, and the joy of exploration as our Bike Club members continue to push themselves and discover the wonders of the world on two wheels. Here's to more adventures and milestones ahead! 

Spotlight on Library 

Enrolment information session 

Students with Disability, Developmental Delay and Diverse Learning Needs

The Directorate is holding an information session for families enrolling children and young people with development delay, diverse learning needs and disability who will be commencing in a new school in 2025. The session focuses on the enrolment process and supports all children to enrol in their local school. Information will also be provided about the enrolment process for families considering an enrolment in a specialist school for 2025.

This session will be held online on Monday, 8 April 2024 from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Parents/carers can RSVP or ask any questions about the session, by emailing: EDUCommunityPartner@act.gov.au. Please include the child’s school year they will be entering in 2025.

Parent Portal 

Music Scheme @ Macgregor 

Children on Leave

Could we ask that if your child is away for any reason that you contact the front office by sending an email to macgregorps.info@act.edu.au or phone 02 61421600.  Please do not message the teacher directly on Seesaw.  Thank you 

Family Contact Details  

It is important that the school maintain an accurate and up to date record of family/carers email, home addresses and telephone numbers for all children. Please notify the school immediately with changes to your contact details by sending an email to info@macgregorps.act.edu.au, or phone 61421600. 

Community Information 

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