Term 2 Week 8 Thursday 7 June 2018 PRINCIPAL'S PAGE

Merrimac-Languages Lighthouse School Our Deputy Principal, Miss Murray and our Japanese Teachers Mrs Mason and Mrs Marshall have been recognised for their work in bringing the teaching of a language other than English (Japanese) to all our students from Prep to Year6. The quality of the teaching has been commended by the Region. Merrimac has hosted information sessions for local Principals and middle leaders with the latest having 17 different school representatives in attendance. Our Japanese teachers have taught demonstration classes and had teachers work shadow them to see how our program works here at Merrimac. Both the Regional Languages Champion, Liz Lacey, and our Assistant Regional Director, Darren Scott have commended the school for our work in this area. Liz recently wrote to the school and said, ‘As a lead language school in South East Region, Merrimac State School provides an exemplar of best practice to other schools aspiring to build and strengthen their programs. Global Schools through Languages acknowledges your significant body of work and wishes to support your school to continue this important initiative.’

Merrimac’s Japanese Program is strengthened by our long-term sister school relationship with Katsuragi Elementary School in Kobe, Japan. In Term 3, Week 3, our Katsuragi friends will be coming to our school. Merrimac families and staff will be hosting students, staff members and parents in their homes. This is a wonderful opportunity for both cultures to learn from each other. We have a week of celebrations where all classes will engage in a variety of activities and assemblies to celebrate our friendship.

Language Perfect World Championships This year Merrimac State School has again received amazing results!!! See all the results under our Japanese news. NAIDOC WEEK 2018

In celebration of Naidoc week, this year Merrimac students will all be involved in a day of cultural celebrations and activities. On Tuesday the 26th June the team from Yallburru will be visiting our school and providing students with an opportunity to participate in cooking, dancing, music, craft, painting or traditional games and story-telling. Parents are welcome to join us for our celebration assembly at 2:15 in the PAC hall where selected students

will share their dance moves and artworks for all to enjoy. This will replace other assemblies in Week 11. Date: 26th June Time: 2:15pm Place: PAC Hall Traffic Survey- Residential Development There is a proposed residential development site opposite the school on the corner of Gooding Drive and Boowaggan Road. The school was contacted by Dale Kleimeyer, a Principal Engineer from Burchills Engineering as they have been commissioned to work on site access for the development proposal. Traffic Data and Control will be putting in cameras on the school side of Boowaggan Road to capture traffic movement during peak school times this Thursday 7 June. The cameras will be mounted on the school side and pointed at the road to avoid capturing parent and child movement in the carpark. The following communication was sent by Dale: ‘We refer to our request for traffic surveys to be performed in Boowaggan Road at each of the three access points to the school car parks. Low resolution cameras are used for the traffic surveys mounted 5 - 6 metres above the ground one at each location. As requested the cameras will not be directed towards the car parks or mounted on the opposite (southern side) of Boowaggan Road. The proposal is for the cameras to be mounted in the Boowaggan Road verge and pointed towards Boowaggan Road directed away from the car parks, focusing on the roads. Recording is then put into software hence manual counting of the recorded data does not occur. Generally the recording is kept for about a month then deleted. The survey is proposed for the morning drop off and afternoon pick up times this Thursday 7th June. The surveys are performed by a company called TDC (Traffic Data & Control) and we have conveyed these requirements to TDC.’ Term Two Staff Leave

Merrimac State School Newsletter

The following teaching staff have leave coming up in Term Two:

Dr Pointing 21 May

– 8 June

Ms Hall (A/Princ), Mr Boff (A/DP),

Mrs Conder (A/School Engagement

Officer), Mrs Claudia Buntine (SEP

Teacher)

Mrs Taffs 22 May

– 8 June

Mrs Jan Beggs

Mrs

Patterson

13 -15

June

Ms Sarah Folo

Mr Elliott 25 – 29

June

TBA

Mrs Johns 25 - 29

June

Ms Rachel Goldfinch

Mrs Reid 28 - 29

June

Mrs Powell

Year 5 Camp This week, our Year 5 students headed off to camp at the Runaway Bay Sports and Recreation Centre. They had a fantastic time engaging in all the sporting and social activities. Miss Murray, Year 5 Deputy Principal spent time with teachers and students during the camp and reported that all students participated in the spirit of the camp to develop their leadership capabilities. A collage of photos from the camp will be in next week’s newsletter!

Memories from the Centenary

Kirstin Yelland – January 1975 to December 1976 I was born and raised throughout Papua New Guinea and it was still very colonial in the 1970’s. We came to live in Australia permanently January 1974, a day before the big floods. We lived in Broadbeach then moved to Cypress Gardens living on the Nerang River, near the old flea market (now Carrara Markets). My parents (Lloyd and Lorraine) drove around on the very few roads in the area at that time to Nerang and Mudgeeraba. One day they passed this lovely little school called Merrimac Primary. I joined the 12 boys, 5 girls, and one teacher at Merrimac Primary, all crowded into one school room. My world expanded happily. Mr Ninet was school principal and lived in the school house on the grounds, and Mrs Slaughter came as a helper. The school grounds were so big with lots of grass and massive trees all around the boundary with tennis court, swings, monkey-bar and more. The school had two floors. The top consisted of the main school room and a small TV come everything room. When there was a special event on TV we all crammed into the little room and watch it on a basic black & white TV. The rooms were boiling hot in summer and freezing in winter. Below was a room for sports and grounds equipment, water drinking area, table and chairs for lunch. At the bottom of the main stairs there were four garden patches, and we were grouped into teams. We planted beautiful flowers and looked after the beds, and then a VIP was invited to present awards for garden presentation. In the middle of the flower beds we had the flag pole. Every morning we had school parade, raised the Australian flag, sang God Save the Queen and I played on my recorder sometimes. Opposite the school I remember there was a cattle farm. One day the cattle were dipped and the smell of the dipping solution and 100’s of cows stank the school out, so Mr Ninet called the parents to come and fetch us-great way to have a day off! This story and many more are featured in our commemorative Centenary Book available in the Bookshop for $15. Year 5 Lightning Carnival Lightening Carnival is postponed because of the inclement weather. These carnivals provide the opportunity for our children to visit our local high schools for a fun day of sports. This is a traditional event for our Mid Coast Community of Schools giving our girls and boys a chance to mix with other neighbouring primary schools and to experience the high school culture. The high schools will contact us to inform families of the new date. Year 3 Excursion – Mudgeeraba Light Horse Museum The Year 3’s excursion to the Mudgeeraba Light Horse Museum has also been postponed due to the inclement weather. A new date will be advised. Music Teacher Awards Merrimac State School is so fortunate to have excellent classroom and instrumental music teachers. This is reflected in the strong music program in our school and the many successes our students have at both a school and Regional level. If you would like to nominate one or more of our music teachers for an award in recognition of all their hard work and dedication to their students, please follow this link: https://www.ariamusicteacheraward.com.au/propose-a-teacher From the desk of Ralph and Rosie

Merrimac State School Focus of The week Over this past week, the children at Merrimac State School have been examining what we can say to build resilience in others. Building resilience in others is important as it shows those around us that we support them and care about their personal wellbeing. In their classes this week, the boys and girls at MSS have been asked to engage in discussions, role plays and class demonstrations on building resilience in others. Congratulations to P4 and 3D for receiving the Ralph and Rosie Class Award of the Week. 3D received their award for remembering their safe and respectful behaviours during eating time. P4 received their award for walking past the 2D and 2E classroom quietly and respectfully. Congratulations to all boys and girls for remembering to be Safe, Respectful Learners.

Ralph and Rosie

Premier’s Reading Challenge Premier's Reading Challenge is on again this year - a great way to encourage reading in your child’s life. The Premier is challenging all students from Prep to Year 6 to read/experience an allocated number of books at their level between 14th May and 24th August. Prep to Year 2 are to read or experience 20 books, Years 3 & 4 are asked to read 20 books and Years 5 & 6 to read 15 books. Most children will probably fulfil these requirements at school alone, perhaps with the exception of the upper school. Please let teachers know if your child/ren would like to participate. Children receive a certificate at the end of the program. Enquiries to Mrs Boff please in P3. For further information visit www.education.qld.gov.au/schools/readingchallenge Term Two Reporting To Parents Report Cards will be emailed home on Wednesday 27 June for all year levels. Please ensure that we have your current email address on record at school. As parent/teacher interviews for Prep to Year 6 were held at the end of Term One, it is expected that there will be few parent requests for interviews. If needed, interviews can be arranged with the class teacher. Children Leaving School at the end of Term Two If your child/children will not be returning to Merrimac for Term Three please notify the school office as soon as possible. We have a number of new enrolments for the start of next term and early notification of students leaving our school will assist with class placement of new students. School Website and QSchools Smartphone App The QSchools app is available to the school community as a free download via the Apple iTunes store and Google Play. Ensure you update regularly to access the latest features. Student School Banking

Due to a tightening of regulations within the banking industry, and the legal ramifications to both parents and the volunteers involved in the program, we will no longer be able to fill in any missing details in the students bankbooks. ALL details on the slips must be filled in by the student or parent, or we will have to send the book back home with the money still inside. We do appreciate that sometimes you are in a rush in the mornings, but we have to be strict with this. We really appreciate your help in this matter and thank you for your patience over the next few weeks as everyone tries to remember and hopefully no-one has their book sent home.

We would appreciate any parents/carers that could help out for a couple of hours on our Wednesday banking mornings. Please contact the school office if you can! Prep Enrolments for 2019 This year we currently have 104 Prep students. Prep is an extremely important part of our school. We are already getting inquiries regarding Prep for 2019. In October each year our school holds a morning and evening orientation session for our new families. In November we also hold Prep experience days for our future Prep students. Enrolments for Prep for next year can be made at the school’s office. Parents of Prep students for next year are encouraged to start enrolling their children. Early enrolment allows the school to be better prepared for the 2019 school year. Now that our school has an official enrolment boundary, all families especially those residing outside our catchment area, are encouraged to get their Prep enrolments in as early as possible. All enrolments must include the enrolling students’ Birth Certificate. Breakfast and Fitness Program The Breakfast/Fitness Programs continues this term, on a Wednesday, for interested Years 3 to 6 students. There are 100 places available. Students need to commit to attending each week from 8.00am to 8.45am to be part of the program. The program will run through till the end of Term Two. I’m sure that Chappie Steve will appreciate any staff and parent help in running this program this year. We certainly appreciate the support from Coles Worongary, Tina Nenadic (Gold Coast Property Sales & Rentals), the P and C Association and the Genesis Church who are ongoing supporters of the Breakfast/Fitness Program allowing us to buy the various breakfast requirements. Parent Fitness (Boot Camp) Program – free for Merrimac Parents Thanks to Tina Nenadic, from Gold Coast Property Sales & Rentals, we are continuing this term with the free fitness program for our parents. Simone Doyle is the fitness instructor who runs the sessions weekly in the MPC/Tennis Court area each Thursday from 1.45pm to 2.45pm. It is completely free. I’m sure that there are many parents who would be interested in being part of this program. Any parents who wish to be involved in the fitness program can contact Tina direct on 0402984898. Simone can only cater up to 20 in the session so please register your interest with Tina as soon as possible. The Parent Fitness has recommenced for the term and will run throughout Term Two. Koala Joeys - Term 2

Koala Joeys is an early years literacy and numeracy oral language program. The program is suitable for children of all ages. As part of our school’s commitment to early years’ development, Koala Joeys will be held at Merrimac State School. The program will run each Friday morning and continue for the term. When: Friday mornings Where: PAC Time: 9.00am – 10.00am

STUDENTS OF THE WEEK

Congratulations to the following students of the week: Eleanor R P1, Rose M P1, Hanjun M P1M, Rahni P P1M, Isla O P2, Shellbie R P2, Ruby D P3, Max M P3, Jayden L P4, Lalita D P4, Axel K 1A, Sonny K 1A, Axel S 1B, Luna H 1B, Aiden H 1C, Kirsten C 1C, Lili C 1D, Jai M 1D, Amy W 2A, Riley C 2A, Tori Mc 2B, Amelia S 2B, Max C 2C, Rhys J 2C, Ryoma S 2D, Bodhi N 2D, Eva C 2E, Kobe W 2E, Jayden W 3A, Steve D 3B, Logan T 3C, Tahlia L 3D, Jaydin A 3E, Chloe B 4/5M, Cooper M 4A, Ash T 4B, Talia K 4C, Nathan O 4D, Lochie B 5/6M, Luca E 5A, Rylee F 6A, Blaze K 6B, Drew L 6C, Christopher M 6D

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

Congratulations to the following students of the month: Nina V P1, Zakariya G P1M, Shyla H P2, Jahzay G P3, Timmy S P4, Anna G 1A, Peach H 1B, Aki Y 1C, Brandon T 1D, Travis C 2A, Taylor M 2B, Hana M 2C, Thomas D 2D, Zane D 2E, Isaac S 3A, Annabelle K 3B, Ada Y 3C, Jacob D’ 3D, Emma B 3E, Sehna M 4/5M, Daevlin L 4A, Charli W 4B, Sunny M 4C, Hayley G 4D, Lilly M 5/6M, Corey F 5A, Minseo K 6A, Yasmin B 6B, Nik T 6C, Madelyn B 6D

MUSIC NEWS

Term 2 Rehearsal Roster

DAY TIME GROUP

MON 7.45 – 8.45am 3.00 – 4.00pm

SENIOR CHOIR---- Years 4,5,6 SENIOR BAND -----Years 5,6

WED 1.00 – 1.45pm 3.00 – 4.00pm

STAGE BAND ------Years 5,6 JUNIOR BAND ---- Year 4

THURS 8.00 – 8.45am 7.50 – 8.45am 3.00 – 3.40pm

JUNIOR CHOIR --- Years 2,3 INTERMEDIATE STRINGS - Yr 4 SENIOR STRINGS - Years 5,6

FRI 7.50 – 8.45am BEGINNER STRINGS – Year 3

Magic of Music Concert 6.00pm on Wednesday 20th June - Week 10 The Magic of Music Concert is always a very special occasion for our Instrumental and Choir students. It is an exciting opportunity for them to perform and show parents and friends the fruits of their hard practice. Students are required to wear their Music Uniform to the Concert. Music Polo Shirts are currently in the process of being given out. Please ensure your child has long black pants, not tights, black shoes and black socks. Instrumental Lessons at Merrimac Instrumental lessons are offered to students in Years 3,4,5 and 6. Year 3 is Strings only. Recruitment is done in 4th term each year. Any new students who play an instrument and are interested in joining a program must contact the music department.

JAPANESE NEWS

Congratulations to all students in years 4-6 who participated in the Language Perfect World Championships. This year Merrimac State School has again received amazing results!!! In total, we earned 67 certificates, with 2 Elite, 4 Emerald, 8 Gold, 11 Silver, 18 Bronze and 24 Credit Awards. We scored 166,533

points (that is 35,000 points more than 2017- wow!!), we answered 547,3774 questions and as a school spent 814 hours learning languages during this 10 day period. This is an amazing achievement, congratulations everyone! Omedetou gozaimasu. The Inter-class competition was a huge success! The winning class earned 41,072 points as a class! Congratulations to 6C for their effort and achievement and for winning the class pizza party! The class with the most awards was 4/5M with 21 Awards and 39,879 points!!! Congratulations to all the classes for their efforts in chasing 6C! It was a close race! Once again well done to all our students and thank you to all staff and parents for your encouragement and support during the championships. School Achievements: • 111th overall globally (out of 1476 schools) • 4th for Japanese in QLD (out of 177 schools) Special congratulations to Sorina T 6D for achieving the highest student score at Merrimac (14,350 points)! We look forward to presenting certificates on senior parade to all students who achieved a Silver award or above later this year. All Credit and Bronze award certificates will be presented in class. Congratulations! Omedetou Gozaimasu! Marshall Sensei 500= Credit Award, 1000= Bronze, 2000= Silver, 3000= Gold, 5000= Emerald, 10,000= Elite Name Score Award Sorina 14,350 Elite Carmi 13,832 Elite Holly 9,396 Emerald Sean 5,643 Emerald Sarah 5,217 Emerald Anderson 5,001 Emerald Chloe 4,491 Gold Carrin 3,875 Gold Saera 3,644 Gold Joshua 3,553 Gold Mia 3,381 Gold Runo 3,252 Gold Sasha 3,199 Gold Evan 3,035 Gold Tyla 2,915 Silver Arielle 2,673 Silver Timothy 2,551 Silver Zaiden 2,460 Silver Oliver 2,367 Silver Coco 2,283 Silver Zali 2,247 Silver Leayz 2,223 Silver Noah 2,115 Silver James 2,069 Silver Carlos 2,006 Silver Jaylen 1,833 Bronze Izabel 1,783 Bronze Semih 1,595 Bronze Hana 1,407 Bronze Sehna 1,394 Bronze Name Score Award

Junah 1,278 Bronze Jaiden 1,206 Bronze Sophie 1,180 Bronze Drew 1,171 Bronze Ally 1,149 Bronze Emily 1,139 Bronze Mikayla 1,058 Bronze Holly 1,048 Bronze Leif 1,019 Bronze Joshua 1,016 Bronze Tyson 1,013 Bronze Jae 1,010 Bronze Cody 1,005 Bronze Izabella 921 Credit Chloe 919 Credit Taj 898 Credit Riley 800 Credit Jaylah 785 Credit Tyler 746 Credit Levi 709 Credit Louise 667 Credit Tania 628 Credit Kylie 625 Credit Hunter 583 Credit Koki 580 Credit Yuuto 579 Credit Jayden 568 Credit Jazz 565 Credit Marli 564 Credit Amelia 549 Credit Billy 542 Credit Hyacinth 524 Credit Tiana 513 Credit Ella 509 Credit Mia 504 Credit Kaiden 504 Credit Isabel 503 Credit

PE NEWS

Interschool Sport Years 5 and 6 - Ordering Lunch Students who go to Interschool Sport of a Friday, are encouraged to order their main big lunch at Morning Tea time. Students have very little time before the sports buses leave at 12.00pm and they are not allowed to eat on the buses.

INTERSCHOOL SPORTS DRAW FRIDAY 25 MAY Rugby League at Firth Park, Mudgeeraba 5B v St Brigids on Field 2 @ 12.45pm 6B Merrimac Sky v St Augustines on Field 1 @ 12.45pm 6B Merrimac Royal v Broadbeach on Field 1 @ 1.30pm Netball at Firth Park, Mudgeeraba 6B v Hillcrest 2 on Court 10 @ 1.20pm 6C v William Duncan on Court 6 @ 1.50pm Girls Oztag at Marymount College 6A v St Andrews on Field 9 @ 1.35pm 6B v Caningeraba on Field 12 @ 12.45pm Girls Soccer at Robina Common, Ron Penhaligon Way 6B Marymount on Field 3A @ 1.35pm Boys Soccer at St Vincents Primary School 6B Boys v St Vincent’s on Field 1 @ 1.35pm 5A Boys v St Vincent’s on Field 3 @ 12.40pm 5B Boys v St Brigid’s on Field 3 @ 1.35pm

BOOKSHOP and UNIFORM SHOP NEWS

Bookshop Opening Days Book/Uniform shop operating hours: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8.00am – 9.00am.

FINANCE NEWS

Please note the finance window will be closed

Wednesday 27th June & Friday 29th June.

We are currently collecting money for the following:

Participants Event Cost Payment due date

All Scien-Tastic $7 First 300

Year 6 Graduation Shirt $36 22 June

Selected Students

Canberra Trip $450 Instalment 2

Over Due

Selected Students

Band/Strings Program

$100 Over Due

Selected Students

Instrumental Hire $120 Over Due

MONEY IS ACCEPTED IN PERSON AT THE FINANCE

WINDOW MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS AND FRIDAYS FROM 8AM – 9.30AM – DIRECT DEPOSITS CAN BE MADE ON

RECEIPT OF INVOICE (VIA EMAIL) If you do not wish to wait in line at the finance window we encourage you to pay online. Please note that the Dept of Education has advised schools that we can no longer accept credit cards over the phone or written on permission slips. Any credit card payments must be made in person at the finance window. Important Information on Invoicing When the school system creates invoices for excursions all parents/caregivers of participating/invited students who have an active email on our database will receive an invoice. If your child is participating you can make payment but be sure to complete the permission form and return to the finance window for verification. If paying online please send the receipt with the permission form to verify payment. Look on the top right hand side of the invoice for the excursion description. Important information: when the payment date for an excursion closes and we cancel unpaid invoices, if you did not pay for this excursion you will receive an adjustment notice email, this is not an invoice please open and read to verify this. This email only goes to those not participating and can be ignored.

RALPH & ROSIE’S KITCHEN NEWS

Kitchen Roster for week commencing 11 June 2018:

Date Volunteers

Mon 11/6 Vanessa, Teena

Tue 12/6 Kylie, Tracey

Wed 13/6 Peta, Kristy

Thurs 14/6 Maria S, Kristy

Fri 15/6 Peta, Kristy

MEAL DEAL FOR THURSDAY 14th JUNE 2018 • Nachos • Quelch Icy Tube • Bottled Water (250ml)

We have a new item available, Quelch Icy Tubes (99% fruit juice) for $1. This is healty alternative to the Zooper Dooper. Thankyou to our new volunteers, Vanessa and Fiona, for coming and helping. We look forward to any new volunteers to join us, even for just an hour. Feel free to drop in to see us, call on 5530 3961 or email us on epear136@eq.edu.au. Liz & Jill

2018 UPCOMING EVENTS TERM 2 Mon 11 June 5.30pm Merrimac IEC Meeting (Katsuragi

Visit)

Mon 11 May 9.00am Merrimac Outside School Hours Care meeting

Mon 11 June 6.30pm P and C Meeting

Mon 18 June School Performances of “Scien-tastic”

Wed 20 June Magic of Music evening

Fri 22 June Last day of Interschool sport

Mon 25 – Thurs 28 June

Regional Music Camp (selected students)

Tues 26 June NAIDOC Celebrations and performances

Wed 27 June Report Cards to be emailed home

Fri 29 June Last school day for term

Mon 16 July School Resumes for Term Three

SCHOOL PERFORMANCE TOURS PRESENT

SCIEN – TASTIC

Years: Prep - 6

Monday 18th June 2018 12.00pm (P-2) and 1.45pm (3-6)

Cost $7.00 per child

The drama, conflict and comedy of theatre are all combined in Scien-tastic to peak students’ interest in the wonderful world of Science today. Filled with thought provoking wacky experiments, Scien-tasitc shows that Science is for everyone, educational as well as loads of fun.

Closing Date for Payment is Wednesday 13th June - payment in cash to the finance window – Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 8am to 9.30am.

Limited numbers……. First 300 only (per session)

cholastic Book Club

New Book Club brochures have been given to students in class. The closing date for Issue 4 is tomorrow, Friday, 8 June. Please use the guide down the side of pages to select age appropriate

books, as all students receive the same brochure. If you wish to make a purchase, please follow these instructions:- Cash Orders - - Complete the order form on the back of the brochure. At

the top fill in the student’s name, class and phone number

- Clearly label an envelope with “Book Club Order”, the

student’s name and class

- Into this envelope, place the order form together with

correct money or cheque payable to Scholastic

- Place the envelope in the box at the school finance window

(open Mon/Wed/Fri mornings)

Credit Card Orders – Our school is registered to use the LOOP Ordering System for Book Club credit card payments. Instructions on the brochure order form and Scholastic website will assist you to complete your credit card order.

BOOK CLUB ORDERS CLOSE - 9.30AM FRIDAY, 8 JUNE

How to Mindfully Cope with the

“Tough Stuff” Presented by Petris Lapis

Discover easy practical strategies for coping with the tough stuff at work and in life.

� Practice some mindfulness tools which help you be more self-aware and

patient with yourself when difficult things happen.

� Learn how to recognise the initial stages of the stress cycle and explore the

keys to surviving and thriving I the challenging situations that are part of every

life.

This is a very practical introduction to mindfulness and the positive ways it can help

your outlook, well-being and capacity to cope with the tough stuff when it happens.

When: Wednesday 13th June 1:30-3pm

Where: Science Room at the end of the PAC

Who: Parents and carers are welcome

RSVP: Elisa Perry eperr62@eq.edu.au or ring on 5569 1564 by the 8th June

About Your Presenter Petris has trained with the world’s leading international mindfulness organization and

consulted to business, government and schools for many years. She is an author and

international conference presenter.

Petris is also the mother of a child with a mental illness and understands what it is like to

cope with difficult stuff in life. She is warm, approachable and will help you laugh at some of

the things we worry about and the funny things we choose to do to cope with them.

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary School Holiday Program More information can be found at the following website: https://currumbinsanctuary.com.au/corporate/education/holiday-programs