2024 Term 4 Vol. 2

Acknowledgment of Country

From the Principal's Desk

Dear Mudgeeraba Creek Community

As we celebrate World Teachers' Day today, I want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude to the remarkable teachers who are at the heart of our school. Every day, our teachers go above and beyond to create a positive, enriching, and supportive learning environment for our students. They dedicate their time, energy, and care to helping each child thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

This special day is an opportunity for all of us to pause and recognise the enormous impact that teachers have on the lives of our young people. From sparking curiosity and a love of learning to fostering resilience and confidence, their influence shapes the future in ways we cannot measure. They are the true superheroes of our school community—guiding, inspiring, and nurturing the next generation. In the words of Professor Dumbledore from Harry Potter, "It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." Our teachers choose every day to make a difference, not just through their knowledge, but through the care and commitment they bring to each student.

I encourage everyone in our community to join in this celebration by taking a moment to thank the teachers who have touched your lives or the lives of your children. A simple note of appreciation or kind word can mean the world to a teacher.

To our amazing teaching staff: thank you for your unwavering commitment, your passion for education, and the difference you make every day. You are the reason our school is such a special place to learn and grow.

Day for Daniel

Today, 25 October, our school participated in Day for Daniel, joining communities across Australia to promote child safety and awareness. The event, organized by the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, provided an opportunity for our students to learn about the importance of personal safety and the steps they can take to recognize, react, and report if they ever feel unsafe.

Students were invited to proudly wear red in Daniel’s memory and engaged in meaningful discussions and activities designed to help them stay safe both in the real world and online. Teachers guided these conversations with care, ensuring that students gained valuable knowledge in a supportive environment.

I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Mrs Towers-Florey for leading this event and to our teachers for facilitating these essential lessons and to our families for supporting the initiative by reinforcing these safety messages at home. Together, we are building a more informed, aware, and resilient community.

The Resilience Project

Exciting News: Our School Partners with The Resilience Project for 2025!

I am thrilled to announce that in 2025, our school will be partnering with The Resilience Project, a renowned program that promotes the wellbeing and emotional resilience of students, staff, and families. This initiative will bring invaluable learning opportunities to our community, focusing on key pillars such as gratitude, empathy, and mindfulness.

The Resilience Project is designed to equip students with practical tools to help them develop emotional literacy and build resilience in their daily lives. Through engaging lessons, interactive activities, and community involvement, students will learn how to foster positive mental health habits and grow into more confident, mindful individuals.

This partnership will not only benefit our students, but also provide ongoing support for staff and parents, creating a holistic approach to wellbeing across our school.

We look forward to sharing more details as we approach 2025 and invite all families to join us in this exciting new journey toward greater resilience and emotional wellbeing. If you are looking for a new book to read or listen to, I highly recommend Hugh van Cuylenburg’s book The Resilience Project.

A Huge Thank You to Our P&C for Supporting Life Education Lessons

I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our amazing P&C for their generous support in ensuring all of our students could participate in Life Education lessons this year. Through their funding, we were able to bring these vital sessions to the school, allowing students to engage in important lessons about healthy lifestyle choices, personal safety, and wellbeing.

Life Education’s engaging and age-appropriate programs provided our students with valuable knowledge and skills that will benefit them now and into the future. We are so fortunate to have such a dedicated P&C who continually invest in the wellbeing and education of every child in our school community.

Thank you once again to the P&C for making this fantastic opportunity possible for our students!

Enrolments

Informed decisions are the best decisions. At this time of the year, I am seeking your help to inform my decisions about budgets and staffing for 2025. In my quest to have confidence in predictions of student population, I require advance warning if your child will not be returning in 2025 (excluding 2024 Year 6 students). If this applies to your child or children, please  complete the Student Leaving Form below and return to our Attendance Officer, Louise Gossling - Attendance@mudgeerabacreekss.eq.edu.au . If you know of another family to whom this applies, please bring it to their attention.

Our Deputy Principal Mrs Dekker, continues to lead our Prep transition processes and has been ably supported by a dedicated team in our teaching and non-teaching sectors. If you are yet to enrol for 2025 please do so asap to ensure you don’t miss our experience days which are scheduled for Week 8. Keep an eye on your emails for more details specific to you and your child.

Uniform 

On enrolment, parents agreed to uphold the Mudgeeraba Creek SS Student Dress Code by ensuring their child attends school in full school uniform. Please ensure your child is meeting these standards.

In readiness for the 2025 school year, many families are busily looking for new school shoes. When doing so, our student dress code clearly states;

-plain black shoes,

-white socks,

-MCSS school shorts/skort/skirts

-MCSS school shirt

We take great pride in how our students present in full school uniform, however, require parent support!

Warm regards
Ben Morris
Principal

Senior School

Year 6

Following from our last newsletter I can announce that the Legacy quote decided by our Year 6 cohort is “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard!” This quote will be transformed into a sign board which will be displayed along the Legacy wall down at the performance centre.

This week’s probability carnival did not disappoint attracting a lot of parents, family members and siblings. Great work students and the staff who made this event happen.

As we proceed into the next few weeks assessments will start to begin. It is a timely reminder to start studying and focussing on student wellbeing. Goodluck students with your up and coming assessments. Next week our local feeder high school Robina SHS, will be running workshops every Thursday for 3 weeks, regarding topics such as respectful relationships, time management and study skills. These workshops are key in exposing our Year 6’s to what is to come next year at high school, no matter what destination school it may be.

Years 5 & 4

The leadership passports have been coming in each and every day from our aspiring Year 5 students. Monday 28^th October is the final day for the passports to be submitted. It has been great to see so many Year 5 students apply and put in a lot of hard work in completing the passports.

Both our Year 4 & 5 students this week and next have been engaging in the Life Education program. Student feedback has been very positive and student engagement has been high throughout the sessions.

Some of our Year 4 classes this week had fun over at the Ashmore PCYC, where they took part in a Bike Safety course. Next week the other Year 4 classes will be attending. This is such an important program and we thank the Ashmore PCYC for catering for our MCSS students each and every year.

Year 5 completed a successful outing to the Broadwater Parklands this week to gain experiences essential for the upcoming English and HASS assessments.

Assessment time is approaching fast for both Year 4 & 5 students so please ensure your child is eating, sleeping and revising their work in preparing for this assessment period. Good luck students with your up and coming assessments.

Warm regards
Tim Thompson
Deputy Principal

Junior School

We have enjoyed meeting our 2025 Prep students and their families over the last two weeks as they prepare to make the leap into big school.  If you have not returned your Prep enrolment paperwork or scheduled an interview, please call us as soon as possible so that we can make sure your child is all set for Prep in 2025.  We were very happy to have the Kindy class from Tree of Life visit us this week to meet some of our staff and have a look at where they will learn and play next year. On our next visit they will meet Bosley and have a play in the playground.   If any other local Kindy classes would like to arrange a visit to us, please contact Lesley Dekker.

Our Year 1 students were lucky to have a visit from Ms Brennan, principal of Numinbah Valley Environmental Education Centre, to learn more about our local First Nations calendar.  Students were very interested to learn how Kombumerri people differentiated the seasons and looked to the environment for clues of seasonal change. 

I have had some persuasive Year 2 students visit this week to share their writing with me.  They all had very convincing reasons and used some fantastic vocabulary in their writing.  I am sure that parents will have noticed a definite improvement in their child’s use of persuasive techniques at home as they try to sway parents to share their point of view and almost Atticus Finch levels of pathos in their arguments.

Year 3 students have been exploring the school grounds in search of living, non-living and once living things during Science lessons.  They were happy to discover some of the new insect and native bee houses that have been placed around our school grounds by our Facilities Officer Mr Soligo.  Students were very excited to let me know that this was a great example of an object that had living, non-living and once living components. 

Our students have also been enjoying meeting Healthy Harold during Life Educations sessions.  Thank you to the P&C for supporting these valuable lessons.  Our Prep students have been learning about everything our bodies need for a healthy day, Year 1 have focussed on how to be your social, emotional and physical best, Year 2 have learned about growing good friendships while Year 3 investigated ways to improve their social and emotional wellbeing.

Warm regards
Lesley Dekker
Deputy Principal

IDEAS

The Vital Role of IDEAS Teachers in Supporting Student Success

At Mudgeeraba Creek State School, we are fortunate to have a dedicated team of support teachers, known as IDEAS (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Support) Teachers. These educators play a crucial role in fostering a nurturing environment where all students, regardless of their individual needs or challenges, can thrive.

Supporting Diverse Learning Needs

One of the primary roles of IDEAS Teachers is to address the diverse learning needs of our students. Every child learns differently, and some students require additional support or alternative strategies to participate in learning and school life.  IDEAS Teachers work closely with classroom teachers to ensure that lessons are accessible to all students. Whether it’s offering small group instruction, providing specialised learning materials, or modifying lesson plans, their goal is to create an inclusive learning environment.

Emotional and Social Support

In addition to academic assistance, IDEAS Teachers provide vital social and emotional support. School can sometimes be a stressful place for children, and students dealing with anxiety, emotional struggles, or social difficulties often benefit from the caring, individualised attention that IDEAS Teachers provide. The IDEAS Teachers helps students develop coping strategies, build resilience, and foster positive relationships with their peers.

Collaborative Approach to Student Success

One of the strengths of the IDEAS Team is their collaborative approach. They work alongside classroom teachers, specialists, therapists and parents to create personalised learning opportunities that cater to the unique needs of students with diverse needs.

Conclusion

Our IDEAS Teachers are a vital part of the Mudgeeraba Creek State School community. Their dedication to fostering inclusion, equity, and support for all students ensures that each child has the opportunity to succeed, both in school and in life.

Warm regards
Pamela Lidstone
Head of Student Services

2024 Storyfest - Author visit to Years 4-6

 As part of this year's Storyfest writer's festival, we are thrilled to welcome author Louise Park to our school.  Louise will be launching her brand new book "Prank Wars - Game On" in a special event for our Year 4-6 students, next Thursday 31st October 2024.  

ORDER NOW TO HAVE YOUR BOOK PERSONALLY SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR

Parents are able to pre-order the book if they wish (only available online), using the QR code below. Storyfest will bring your child’s pre-order in time for the author's visit, so they can have their books personally signed by Louise Park!

Louise Park is a multi-award-winning author known for her bestselling series fiction, including Zac Power Test Drives, Boy vs Beast, Harriet Clare, D-Bot Squad, Star Girl, Grace’s Secrets and Grace’s Escape. She is the author of 7 Steps to Get Your Child Reading and Last Man Out, A Personal Account of the Gallipoli Evacuation, an award-winning title based on her grandfather’s journals of his experiences as the last man out of Anzac Cove, Gallipoli during WW1.

Screen Strong - A Guide for Parents

As parents, we can benefit from effective strategies to establish healthy boundaries around screen time for our children. Screen Strong is an initiative designed to support parents in navigating the complex challenges associated with managing appropriate screen time. For more information, refer to the information sheet below or visit the Screen Strong website today. 

Term 4 Calendar

Important Reminders

As always, the end of year goes so quickly - with so many exciting events and happenings.

Our Countdown Calendar* is here to help you plan for the remaining time in Term 4!

*Calendar is correct at time of publishing and may be subject to changes.   

Creek Kids Playgroup - What A Treasure!

Our Creek Kids turned into pirates and had an AAWWWesome time at playgroup this week!

Of course, pirate hats were essential, so we created them before we sailed the seas.

Captain Morris (formerly known as Mr Morris) joined the crew for our treasure hunt. 

We followed the clues, traversed the school and found gold at the playground.

What a wonderful time we had!

Miss Rachel and Miss Kym look forward to seeing everyone next week, Wednesday 30th October, for our final Creek Kids for 2024.

Join us in Halloween dress-up to celebrate our last playgroup of the year.

Creek Kids play from 9 - 10am.

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