principal’s post · a safe and happy winter break. emu class it has been a wonderful semester in...
TRANSCRIPT
Newsletter Term 2, Week 10
Keeping our school safe
This uncertain time of Corona virus is tough and
challenging for our community. The Department of
Education is being very supportive of schools and is
ensuring we have enough hygiene products to
provide a safe learning and working environment. At
Mary Brooksbank School we are well resourced and
have all the hygiene resources we need including
soap, toilet paper, wipes, disinfectant, gloves and
hand sanitiser. The Department has provided extra
cleaning hours for high touch surfaces and areas are
being cleaned more regularly. I want to assure all
parents that at this time, we are doing everything
possible to keep our school safe.
The decision to minimise the number of visitors to
the school has been a very tough one to make,
however it is always with the impact on students as
the central focus. Thank you families for your
ongoing support over this really complex time.
I ask that you make sure that students are kept
home when they are sick, so that we can keep our
whole community as healthy as possible.
Communication between families and teachers
Whilst we had learning from home, teachers and
families made good use of Seesaw to communicate
with each other. Class teachers are now using
Communication Books again, but please remember
that class time is for teaching and learning, and staff
cannot always find the time to write a lengthy
report on how your child has worked each and
every day. We’ll ring if there is an issue, and we’ll
ring if there is something exciting to share, and
write in a book or utilise Seesaw at other times.
Thanks for your understanding.
Principal’s Post
Therapists
At this stage, I am planning for therapists to return
to school in term 3. Therapists have been advised of
this and are able to commence providing services to
your children from Monday 27th July (week 2). This
arrangement is current now, however may change
at any time depending on advice from the Health
Department and the Department of Education.
If you would like your child to receive therapy at
school, please ask their therapist to email the school
and we will organise for them to complete the
necessary paperwork and undergo the relevant
checks.
Uniform shop
The Uniform Shop, run by P&C volunteers is open
again. Rather than attending in person though, I
would ask that you send your order and money into
school. Class staff will organise with the P&C to
provide the clothing you require. If you feel the
sizing is not right, please return the items and the
P&C will gladly exchange it.
If you require a product description and price list,
please ring the school or put a note in your child’s
communication book.
The P&C would be grateful of any second hand
uniforms that you could donate to them. They are in
particular need of used jumpers and jackets. We
have a number of families who would be grateful
for this cheaper option when purchasing uniforms.
Our second hand clothing is sold at a greatly
reduced price.
Principal’s Post Continued
Semester 1 Reports
Teachers are busy compiling Semester 1 reports
at the moment. These will be sent home to-
wards the end of this week. Because students
have had a major disruption to the usual pattern
of learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic and
have spent less time at school this semester, the
comment on their Personalised Learning and
Support Plan goals may be shortened. However,
we will be providing a general comment on all
key learning areas as we normally would. We
would love to hear your comments on your
child’s report.
Staff farewell……………and welcome
Ewa Ciszewska has worked at Mary Brooksbank
School for 27 years, most recently as an Assis-
tant Principal in the Junior School. Ewa has re-
cently retired and her depth of knowledge about
special education will be greatly missed. She also
holds an enormous amount of knowledge about
the history of the school and its development as
she started here only a few years after the
school was opened.
We wish Ewa a really happy retirement and
hope that she relaxes and spends her time doing
all the things that make her happy.
At the beginning of this term, we welcomed
Christine Jones as an Assistant Principal and she
is currently working in the Senior School. Chris-
tine comes with a background in rural and re-
mote schools, schools for students with behav-
iour disorders and working in Schools for Specific
Purposes.
Jennifer Hamilton-Marsh
(Neradovsky)
Mary Brooksbank School Recipe Book
Recently you would have received a note home
asking for a recipe that represents your cultural
heritage, or one that is special to your family.
The school is compiling a recipe book and
would like to include recipes from all members
of our school community. Please send us in
your recipe with a photo of the finished food or
a photo of you or your family cooking it. Also,
please tell us why this recipe is important to
you or your culture so we can include this infor-
mation as well.
Term 3
Monday 20.07.20 Staff Return
Tuesday 21.07.20 Students Return
Friday 25.09.20 Last Day Of Term
P & C NEWS Hi Everyone
What a crazy year we have had with Covid 19 and us all having to return to school to home school our children. I am sure eve-ryone will agree with me that we have a new found appreciation of our teaching staff at Mary Brooksbank School.
Due to the fact that we are still unable to have P & C meetings at school, we had a meeting of current members off site this term. Given the present uncertain situation with having visitors to the school and the financial pressures many of us have had to endure including the businesses who would normally support the school, we have decided to cancel our major fundraiser our Bingo Night in 2020.
The P & C have proudly donated to the school the proceeds of the 2019 Bingo Night $26000 for upgrading equipment in the Senior Playground and have also given the school $26000 for 2020 which is the equivalent amount we raised in 2019 so the school will still be able to initiate new programs.
I am very proud of the fundraising efforts of our amazing P & C committee and am pleased we are still able to substantially sup-port the school in 2020 without a major fundraiser.
Kind regards
Thank you
We raised $111.60 from our Footy Colours Day for Autism Awareness
Banksia Class
It has been an eventful Term 2 for Banksia class. The boys have done their best to cope with the on-
going changing situations and have continued to show their strong work ethic. In English, Banksia
has been reading Alice and Wonderland and have been answering basic comprehension questions
about the text. Maths has been a combination of both patterns and measurement which each stu-
dent has shown great development. Science involved plants where students studied the senior
school class plants and incorporated art by drawing their interpretations of Banksia, Waratah and
Wattle. For History, Banksia studied Ancient Egypt and made their own Pharaoh Artworks, Ancient
Egyptian God Tablets and paper mâché pyramid. The class has done other outside jobs such as recy-
cling and opening/closing the gates which they have done efficiently. Enjoy these holidays boys and
be ready to work harder next term!
Chris and Cindy
Bilby Class
Bilby Class have worked very hard over the term. We have learnt about patterns and area in Mathe-
matics. You can see Bilby class members standing or lying within the area of a rectangle. In Science
students have learnt about exploring Earth in Space -and we looked at how day and night occurs as
the Earth rotates around the sun. Students have also enjoyed a range of craft, dance and music les-
sons.
Have a wonderful break and we will see you in Term 3
Emma and Nancy.
Bottlebrush Class
This term Bottlebrush class have been exploring some great topics as part of our units of work. In
science students learnt about plants and how they grow, wow we’ve got some green thumbs in
our classroom. Bottlebrush also learnt about migration to Australia using the VR headsets!
Dingo Class
Through Term 2, Dingo Class have been working hard in the classroom. Students have been focus-
ing on sharing and turn taking in group activities and communicating with their peers.
We looked at the book ‘Who Sank the Boat?’ and recreated sentences from the story as well as cre-ating artworks. All students have settled back into the classroom well after the few weeks of home learning and are thriving in their work tasks. Well done Dingos, great job !
Echidna Class
Echidna class quickly settled back into the school routine. During Term 2, they explored their fa-
vourite places, played with Beebots and learnt about different types of buildings. All students
worked very hard and enjoyed expressing themselves in creative writing tasks. Hope you all have
a safe and happy winter break.
Emu Class
It has been a wonderful semester in Emu Class. We have had so much fun at school doing gardening,
playing with BeeBots and showing off some of our dance moves. We have also been working hard read-
ing books and learning our numbers. It has been the perfect way to start off our year and have made
some great friends along the way. Here are some photos to share some of our experiences.
Teacher: Shayal
SLSO: Megan
Students: Charlie, Liza, Xavier, Jacob and Joshua.
Grevillea Class
Grevillea class has done a lot of hands on and immersive learning this year. The students especially en-
joyed exploring Japanese culture as part of their HSIE unit. Early in Term 1, the students had the
chance to participate in a Japanese Tea Ceremony. They enjoyed learning and tasting Japanese food
and drinks and dressing up in traditional Japanese clothes. We are proud of how flexible the students
have been throughout this year and hope that they have a very restful and much deserved break!
Cassie and Sharisse
Kangaroo Class
In Kangaroo class during Term 2 we have explored the various types of puppets for drama. We
got to use hand puppets and finger puppets for role play. Trish has a large collection of puppets
including a marionette puppet from Mexico which is 50 years old!
To finish up we have made our own rod puppets from a wooden spoon. These are hanging in
the office near Jen’s office.
Koala Class
Kookaburra Class
Kookaburra class have been very busy this term learning about patterns, length and area in
Mathematics. Every morning we complete our desk work and we enjoyed Sam coming into
our classroom and teaching us all about technology and the Bee Bots. We have had lots of
fun!
Wattle Class
Wattle class transitioned back to school well following their learning from home experience.
We enjoyed learning about multiculturalism during Term 2. Students explored how and why people choose to immigrate to Australia. We learnt about Australian Native Plants and enjoyed outdoor learning opportunities to explore plants using all of our senses.
We are looking forward to a busy Term 3, learning about Ancient Egypt in History and electricity in Science.
Platypus Class
Despite an unconventional start to the term, the students of Platypus class are to be commended for adapting well to the staggered attendance. Once normal classes recommenced, they showed remarkable resilience and were back into our regular routines with minimal disruption. Well done! One of the highlights of the term was our History unit where we looked at the history of the Olympics. Despite the Olympics being postponed, students looked at the achievements of past Australian athletes such as Ian Thorpe and Betty Cuthbert and made several creative artworks incorporating Olympic symbols and sports. During our Science lessons, we explored forces and movement. Students enjoyed exploring the forces applied when we push and pull items. Students also conducted experiments to examine how different levels of force impact on how far we can kick a ball or throw it in the air. On behalf of Jessika and I, we want to thank all our families for their tremendous effort during the isolation period. We appreciate the challenges it presented and were really encouraged by the response from our families in supporting their child’s ongoing learning. Wishing all the Platypus families a safe and relaxing holiday. Jessika and Jonathan
Possum Class
Possum class loved reading the text Mr McGee by Pamela Allen. We enjoyed participating in hands-
on experiments for our Forces and Movement unit in Science. We learnt lots of interesting things
about the History of the Olympics. Myriam, Courtney and I are extremely happy that all Possum class
students are making good progress in many areas of their schooling and they should feel proud of
their accomplishments this semester.
See you next term,
Freda, Myriam and Courtney
Melaleuca Class
Melaleuca Class have had a productive term 2 and have settled back into class routines. We have had
lots of fun using Beebots for technology, learning about perimeter and length in mathematics and
getting back into our learning. I hope all of our families have a safe and happy school holidays.
Annika, Joel & Meagan
Wallaby Class
Waratah Class
Waratah Class have worked very hard over the term. We have learnt about measuring, patterns, area
and perimeter in Mathematics. We measured our bodies and compared our heights. In Science,
students have been learning about plants and we grew our own shallots in class. We enjoyed the
Virtual Reality program and it was fun looking and learning about the Amazon Rainforest. Thankyou
Sam
Have a wonderful and safe break and we will see you in Term 3 CJ (Chris) and Kylie
Wombat Class
Term 2 has flown by in a flash. Wombat class have been reading Mr McGee during literacy lessons.
Learning about the history of the Olympics and exploring patterns, length and area in mathematics.
The students have all enjoyed having Sam visit with the Bee Bots for technology lessons. They have
been learning how to code by pushing the direction button to move forward on a map to get to a des-
tination. The students have been recreating famous artworks in Visual art lessons and have created
some master pieces of their own.
Wombat class wish everyone a safe and happy holiday and look forward to seeing everyone in Term 3.
Shauna, Jodie, Lachlan, Rishant, Jay, Jawad and Ayaan