Tuesday, 19th March, 2013 FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK Dear Parents and Caregivers, Vandals- Thoughtless Fools Last Wednesday night (13th of March) at precisely 11:43 pm two youths spray painted the admin and prep buildings with a variety of ‘slogans’ and ‘tags.’ Unbeknown to them we have their images recorded on our hidden surveillance. We have processed their images and forwarded them onto the police. It can be expected that these thoughtless fools can be identified and the right actions applied for their indiscretions. Cross Country Monkland State School’s Cross Country will be held on Thursday the final day of term. All students are expected to participate in this event to further add points for their respected houses. We aim to start the first race at 9:30 and complete the event before 11:00. We encourage all parents to come and support students as they compete in the gruelling event. Monkland Spelling Competition Monkland will be holding a Spelling Competition for the whole school on Friday the 22nd of March. Word lists for each year level were sent home. If your child did not bring home a word list, they are available from the office. This is an exciting challenge for all students and there are prizes to be won! Playgroup We are committed to providing a playgroup in 2013 every Tuesday and Thursday for semester 1 with the possibility of extension in semester 2. We would like to expand our organisation and offer young families an opportunity to mix with likeminded people and professionals to give their child every chance of a better start to school. Within our playgroup we also like to provide prospective Pre-Prep students the much need support and preparation needed for school in 2014. This program is endorsed by Playgroup Australia and will be headed by a paid trained member of staff. Enquire at the school office for further information. NAPLAN NAPLAN is scheduled for week 5 of term 2 in 2013. The dates are between the 14th and 16th of May. This testing is for years 3, 5 and 7 in Literacy and Numeracy. I recognise that this maybe a little premature, however there is approximately ten weeks before students sit for the test. Each newsletter there will be a literacy or numeracy question from either year level attached in the newsletter. This can give you some insight into what students can expect this year in NAPLAN. Monkland Markets Information went home recently regarding our commitment to providing a stall at the Monkland Markets once a month. Each class has been placed on a roster to man the stall from 5:30-12:00. We welcome all kinds of support and ideas for the stall. You can contact the market committee coordinator Megan Robertson (nee Casey) for further information. Yours truly, Mr Ashley Lawless Principal - Monkland State School

WHAT’S ON Tuesdays and Thursdays

9 – 11 am Playgroup with Mrs T.

Tuesdays and Thursdays

Tuckshop Tuesday 19th March - 3.30pm

P & C Meeting / AGM Friday 22nd March

MSS Spelling Competition 20th – 22nd March

SWD Camp Thursday 28th March

- Monkland Cross Country - Last Day of Term 1

Monday 15th April

First Day of Term 2 Sunday 21st April

Year 4/5 Monkland Market Stall Duck Pond Markets

Monkland State School

Be a Learner Be Respectful Be Responsible Be Safe 19th March, 2013

SCHOOL NEWS:

Please note the newsletter is published fortnightly. If you miss a newsletter or want to refer to a back copy, Monkland State School newsletters are available on our website: www.monklandss.eq.edu.au

SCHOOL WEEKLY ROUTINE:

Mondays Parade 8.50am / LOTE (Year 6 & 7)

Tuesdays Strings / Tuckshop

Wednesdays Music / Tennis Lessons

Thursdays Library Lessons / School Banking / Tuckshop

Fridays PE / Parade 8.55am

PARENT PARKING Please remember that the top car park is for staff and tuckshop helpers only. Parents are to use the bottom car parks at all times. SPELLING COMPETITION: The Monkland Spelling Competition will be held this Friday. Hopefully students have been studying the word lists they were given and know all their words! There is a $5 Tuckshop voucher for the winner in each class. PLAYGROUP: Playgroup with Shirl Toffoli (otherwise known as Mrs T) is now up and running. Playgroup is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 – 11am. All are welcome. For more information see Shirl in Prep/1 or phone the school on 5489 8888. AWARDS ON PARADE:

Awards on Parade – Friday, 8th March: Back row – Scott, Sarah and Amy. Front row – Billy, Kasey and Elina.

Gotcha Prizes – Monday, 11th March: Sarah, Ursula and Elina

Awards on Parade – Friday, 15th March: Back row – Jesse, Tyler and Tyshelle. Front row – Lattrel, Caleb, Sarah (Principal’s Award)

Gotcha Prizes – Monday, 18th March: Jeremy, Daniel and Danielle

Congratulations to all award recipients!!

GYMPIE ZONE SPORTS: Congratulations to two Monkland students who recently made Gympie Zone representative sports selection – Jeremy for Hockey and Jai for Basketball. Well done boys!

LIBRARY NEWS: All library books must be returned by next week. As next week is the end of the term, there will be no borrowing. If you wish your child to borrow over the holidays, please see Mrs Knox or myself. There are some students with overdue books (as of 19th March) who may need a little help in returning their books. They are: Prep/1: Shanel L. Year 2/3: Kasey B., Justin D., Jackson L., Caleb R., Gemma R., Tyler D-T., Zeke V. Year 4/5: Tyler L., Stuart Mc., Joshua R., Shakeelie W. Year 6/7: Rhianna P. Thank you to those wonderful, responsible students and families who make a conscientious effort each week to look after their library books and return them on time. Don’t forget to visit the town library over the holidays for book borrowing and great holiday activities.

Special thanks goes to the wonderful ladies who covered library books for me this term – Mrs Ross, Jan Spedding and Jenny Derksen. You have helped to greatly reduce the backlog in my covering cupboard!!

Thank you to those who supported our Book Club. The orders have arrived and have been handed out to students. We have decided to run two Book Fairs this year with the first being held in the first week of May. It is an excellent way to buy quality books at reasonable prices and to gain new library books for children to read and borrow.

Happy Reading!

Mrs J. Wilson Library Teacher Aide MONKLAND GOES TO THE MARKETS On Sunday, Monkland had its first stall at the Duck Pond Markets. The aim of the stall is to raise the profile of Monkland School in the community. Prep/One had an information and activities stall. For a gold coin donation, children made St Patricks day four leaf clover necklaces. We were very lucky to have year one parent (and local artist) Bec Lindemann set up a clay making area also. Mrs T, Mrs Keppel and myself talked to a lot of parents and handed out many playgroup and prep brochures. Mrs Keppel sold green jellies and toffee apples that her cooking class helped prepare. Overall we made nearly $100 which is a wonderful effort! Our next stall will be run by the 4/5 class on the 21st of April so if you have anything you would like to sell or ideas we could use for kids activities please see Mr Holmberg or myself. Megan Robertson, Coordinator Monkland Markets Committee.

CHILL OUT ROOM Students of all ages at Monkland have been making great use of the new Chill Out Room at play time on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Playing quiet games, relaxing, chatting, making friends and beating Mrs Keppel at cards are all on offer. On Wednesdays Chappie Jean joins in the fun and as of next week, Mrs T will also be opening the room on Tuesday lunch times. NAPLAN NAPLAN testing for Year 3, 5 and 7 students will take place next term. See the insert in today’s newsletter for NAPLAN information and sample questions to help your child prepare. TERM DATES 2013 The information listed below is current and sourced from the Education Queensland website. For more information on school holidays and Pupil Free Days go to:

Term 1 2013 Tues 29th January – Thurs 28th March

Term 2 2013 Mon 15th April – Fri 21st June

Term3 2013 Mon 8th July - Fri 20th September

Term 4 2013 Tue 8th October – Fri 13th December

P & C NEWS:

P & C MEETING: Minutes from the last meeting held on the 12th of February are enclosed in today’s newsletter. The next P & C Meeting/AGM will be held on the 19th March at 3.30 pm in the Library. All are welcome. This is a great opportunity for new families to meet other families and find out how they can help their children’s school to be the best it can be. Hope to see you there! TUCKSHOP NEWS The new tuckshop menu was sent home last week. If you did not receive one, they are available from the office and the tuck shop.

The Home Baking Roster for Term 2 is enclosed in today’s newsletter. If you wish to be included in the roster for Term 3, please fill out the form and return to the office.

TUCK SHOP ORDERS ARE STILL NOT BEING FILLED OUT CORRECTLY! Please make sure your child’s order has their name, class, food required and which break (1st or 2nd) that the food is to ordered for.

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