Pathways . May 2019 Term 2 May 2019 Market Stalls Fridays 3, 17 & 31 May Labour Day Public Holiday Monday 6 May Parent Information Evening: Dr Paula Barrett, ‘Anxiety and Resilience in Children’ Tuesday 7 May, 6:30–9pm Photos for Reports Friday 10 May NAPLAN for yrs 3, 5, 7 & 9 14–17 May Board Meeting – AGM Monday 20 May, 7:00pm registration for 7:30pm start Children’s House Working With Your Child Wednesday 22 May, 8–9am School Dance Saturday 25 May Lower Primary Working With Your Child Tuesday 28 May, 7:30am Middle School Open Day Wednesday 29 May, 9am Jump Rope for Heart Thursday 30 May, 1–3pm June 2019 Journey and Discovery Saturday 1 June Montessori Explained Tuesday 4 June, 6–7:30pm Middle School Working With Your Adolescent Thursday 6 June, 7:30am Pupil-free Day Friday 7 June Upper Primary Working With Your Child Tuesday 11 June, 7:30am “Never help a child wia task at which he feels he can succeed.” – Maria Monssori Brisbane Montessori School Learning for Life Calendar Dear Parents, Returning to BMS as Acting Principal is a bit like settling back into a favourite, comfortable armchair! While it has been 15 years since I left after seven years as principal, the foundational principles, practices and routines of Montessori education are strongly in evidence. What has and hasn’t changed? Some staff are still here – and it is a joy to reconnect with old friends. The trees have grown a lot – many were planted in my years when the carpark, Administration, Poseidon and Upper Primary rooms were constructed. Nganbirra Hall, Poinsettia (library) and the sports court are wonderful additions to the school. It is a pleasure to be able to return to assist the school in this way during May’s long service leave. Thank you for your warm welcome. As the federal election nears, there are many references in the media to the funding of government and non-government schools. It is difficult to know where the truth lies, when all sorts of claims of cuts to funding or increased funding are being made. The levels of federal and state government support for our school, as well as the resultant fee levels that need to be set to maintain a quality, viable school, are important topics for parents. The Executive Director of Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) (BMS is a member of ISQ) has written an article ‘State/Territory Contributions to Public Funding for Schools’ in a recent issue of briefings. “Historically, the Australian Government has provided most of the public funding for non-government schools whilst State/Territory Governments provide the bulk of funding for state schools. Which level of government provides funding for schools and the relative amounts of that funding continues to be a highly contested area of public policy. In 2017 the Turnbull Government enshrined in legislation the responsibilities of the Federal and State/Territory Governments in terms of the funding of schools, both state and non-government.” I recommend it to all parents. See https://rms.isq.qld.edu.au/files/ Weblive_Briefings/ISQ%20Briefings%2023-3.pdf Yours for our children Aen Kloeden Acting Principal
Transcript
Pathways .May 2019Term 2
May 2019Market Stalls Fridays 3, 17 & 31 May
Labour Day Public Holiday Monday 6 May
Parent Information Evening: Dr Paula Barrett, ‘Anxiety and Resilience in Children’ Tuesday 7 May, 6:30–9pm
Photos for Reports Friday 10 May
NAPLAN for yrs 3, 5, 7 & 9 14–17 May
Board Meeting – AGM Monday 20 May, 7:00pm registration for 7:30pm start
Children’s House Working With Your Child Wednesday 22 May, 8–9am
School Dance Saturday 25 May
Lower Primary Working With Your Child Tuesday 28 May, 7:30am
Middle School Open Day Wednesday 29 May, 9am
Jump Rope for Heart Thursday 30 May, 1–3pm
June 2019Journey and Discovery Saturday 1 June
Montessori Explained Tuesday 4 June, 6–7:30pm
Middle School Working With Your Adolescent Thursday 6 June, 7:30am
Pupil-free Day Friday 7 June
Upper Primary Working With Your Child Tuesday 11 June, 7:30am
“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.” – Maria Montessori
Brisbane Montessori School Learning for Life
Calendar
Dear Parents,
Returning to BMS as Acting Principal is a bit like settling back into a favourite, comfortable armchair! While it has been 15 years since I left after seven years as principal, the foundational principles, practices and routines of Montessori education are strongly in evidence.
What has and hasn’t changed? Some staff are still here – and it is a joy to reconnect with old friends. The trees have grown a lot – many were planted in my years when the carpark, Administration, Poseidon and Upper Primary rooms were constructed. Nganbirra Hall, Poinsettia (library) and the sports court are wonderful additions to the school. It is a pleasure to be able to return to assist the school in this way during May’s long service leave. Thank you for your warm welcome.
As the federal election nears, there are many references in the media to the funding of government and non-government schools. It is difficult to know where the truth lies, when all sorts of claims of cuts to funding or increased funding are being made.
The levels of federal and state government support for our school, as well as the resultant fee levels that need to be set to maintain a quality, viable school, are important topics for parents.
The Executive Director of Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) (BMS is a member of ISQ) has written an article ‘State/Territory Contributions to Public Funding for Schools’ in a recent issue of briefings.
“Historically, the Australian Government has provided most of the public funding for non-government schools whilst State/Territory Governments provide the bulk of funding for state schools. Which level of government provides funding for schools and the relative amounts of that funding continues to be a highly contested area of public policy.
In 2017 the Turnbull Government enshrined in legislation the responsibilities of the Federal and State/Territory Governments in terms of the funding of schools, both state and non-government.”
I recommend it to all parents. See https://rms.isq.qld.edu.au/files/Weblive_Briefings/ISQ%20Briefings%2023-3.pdf
Staff Changes We welcome new staff: Learning Support: Andrea Garwell commenced 1 May Health and Physical Education (HPE) teacher: Sue Shaw commencing 22 May Communications and Administration Assistant: Viv Neuro
Request for help in library covering books Please email Jane Walker at [email protected] if you can help. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Playground Guidelines for Before School From 7:30am the Primary and Middle School playground is monitored by staff and is a programmed area. Students may access the area from the swings to the green. Playground equipment is out of bounds for all. Only Primary and Middle School students can play in the designated areas. Children’s House students who wish to play must be under their parents’ supervision in the Children’s House playground. This is a safety measure to accommodate the large range of ages before school.
Playground Guidelines for After School As most children are leaving the school between 3:00 and 3:15pm, please remember that, for safety reasons, the playground is out of bounds until 3:15pm. All students not collected by 3:15pm will go to OSHC.
Reminders
Book Fair News This year’s Book Fair was a huge success. It was held from 28 to 29 March and organised and run by the Parents and Friends Association.
Sales of Scholastic books raised $946 worth of new books that will be added to our school library. A total of $338.80 was raised from the sale of second-hand books donated by our community. This will be allocated to resources for the new library. Many of the second-hand books went directly to our school library.
We thank parents for donating new books from the classroom wish lists. These will go to classrooms or the library. They will be presented to classes at a Primary School meeting once they have been covered and processed.
The sausage sizzle held at the Book Fair raised $316.60.
Our thanks go to the Parents and Friends Association and to all who contributed towards improving our children’s literacy.
NAPLAN – 14–17 May Children who are in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 this year are eligible for NAPLAN and are preparing for this experience. If you do not intend your child to sit NAPLAN please fill in the withdrawal form already emailed to you and return to the school office before Wednesday 8 May.
Board Annual General Meeting – Monday 20 May Parents are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting of Montessori School Limited on Monday 20 May. Registrations begin at 7pm for a 7:30pm meeting start. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about the governance structure of the school and the strategic decisions made by the board of directors. You will also be participating in the elections of the four director positions which have become available. If you cannot attend, please make sure you use the proxy forms to have your say.
Change of Contact and Medical Information Please note that all change of contact details or medical information needs to come to the office directly. Class directors will then receive that information once our records have been updated. Please be mindful of how important it is to keep the school updated with relevant children’s anaphylaxis and asthma plans.
The following is a link to the form to be completed to change contact details: https://www.bms.qld.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Change_of_Family_Contact_Details.pdf
Upcoming Events
Guest speaker, Dr Paula Barrett, will be providing many practical suggestions for use with your child in the home and classroom environment. This is a follow-on talk from a seminar held at BMS in 2017. Please book in at the office. There will be no childcare available due to the length of the session.
For over two decades Dr Paula Barrett authored and evaluated the well-known ‘FRIENDS for Life’ program, recognised in an evidence-based review conducted by the World Health Organisation for the prevention and treatment of childhood and adolescent anxiety and depression.
Jump Rope for Heart – Thursday 30 May ‘Jump Rope for Heart’ is a fun physical activity programme for schools – keeping students healthy while raising funds to fight heart disease. Register online at https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/jump-rope-for-heart/kids or return your forms on the day.
Montessori Explained – Tuesday 4 June Understanding Montessori philosophy consolidates our reasoning as parents for following a Montessori method of teaching for our children. If you have not yet participated in such a parent information evening, or you would like to refresh your knowledge, please join us at 6:00pm. Please book in with the office.
Upcoming Events (cont.)
Extracurricular Reminders
Bookings are Essential Children must be formally booked into extracurricular activities so that the teacher/service provider knows who to expect. These activities are for interested and positively participating students and are not run on an ad-hoc ‘drop-in’ basis. Notify of an Extracurricular Absence Please notify the teacher / service provider of an absence before the start of the activity. Moving from School End to Activity After the children leave their classroom at 3pm, there is a small gap in time before the activity begins at 3:15pm. Children new to primary school or new to the school might not be aware of what they need to do during this time. We suggest that parents be at the school to show the child where to go, at what time and who to go to until they are familiar with the process. It is a very busy time of day at the Peace Plaza with children leaving the school and children going to OSHC and extracurricular activities. Staff who are on duty do not know who is going to which activity so are not able to keep an eye on your child. Area Used by Extracurricular Activity is for that Activity Alone If you are a parent who is allowing your child to have a play with their friends after school, please note that the only areas available for this are the Green in front of the hall and around the Peace Plaza. The upper playground is for OSHC children only. Any other area being used for an extracurricular activity (the hall, the soccer pitch etc.) is to be avoided. Children under parental supervision must not interrupt or join in with other activities/OSHC. Please be mindful that OSHC staff supervise OSHC children only. Thank you for your cooperation in helping to ensure the extracurricular programme continues to run smoothly.
Journey and Discovery – Saturday 1 June Come and complete a Montessori three-hour work cycle of your own on Saturday 1 June from 8am to 12:30pm. You will gain a valuable understanding of how your children learn using Montessori materials in a prepared environment. Please book in with the office.
Extracurricular for Term 2, 2019
Children’s House, Primary & Middle School Offerings
Activity Contact Venue Day Time
Tennis*Pro-Am Tennis Allan Say – 0408 766 882 www.proamtennis.com.au
