As we wind down to the end of what has been a rich and full term I reflect on these final two weeks with pride. Our annual athletics carnival was a 3-day action packed feast of track and field events with our amazing students demonstrating their athletic skills and pure determination. I was very much a proud Principal and loved every minute, standing their cheering our students on as they crossed the finished line. A big thank you to Mr Daniel Samanes and Mr Remy Fry for their time and effort in organising and hosting this big event. Well done to all of our students who participated and good luck to those representing our school, their families and themselves at the District Athletics Carnival. A massive congratulations to Mitchell who were our overall winning sports house and an even bigger well done to our students who were acknowledged as age champions for the event:
Claire Whitehall (9 years), Xavier Iacutone (9yrs), Brooke Carey (10yrs), Rhys Malfitana (10yrs), Kymahna Punch (11yrs), Michael Collins-Dodd (11yrs), Shakira Ball (12yrs), Robert Hostelak (12 yrs), Carradine (junior) Bally (12yrs).
This fortnight also saw the first of our 'A Round of Maths Destruction' competitions take place. Like our Term 1 Spelling Bee, these wonderful events showcase our academic strengths and give our students a great opportunity to work as a team to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. A big shout out to Mrs Nadine Apps and Mrs Valerie Dayes for hosting these events.
Be sure to save the date for the Mareeba SS Fancy Dress Ball on Friday 12th August. This wonderful event is coordinated by our Mareeba SS P&C who are working hard to source donations for our monster raffle and prizes. If you would like to donate a prize for our raffle please drop this to our front office or call the school on 40928100 to arrange a collection time. Keep up to date with information on our Facebook page or come along to a P&C meeting, our next meeting is Wednesday 20th July at 5pm in the staffroom.
This week staff and students have been practicing their emergency drill procedures with a fire drill held on Monday afternoon. Each term our school is required to practice both our fire and lockdown drills in the event of an emergency. It was pleasing to see all staff and students promptly follow our procedures, getting to our evacuation point in a very timely manner.
Don't forget on the holidays our Front Office (C block) refurbishment begins. A letter was emailed home on Monday 20th June with all the details. Starting Term 3, our front office will be located in Y02. Our friendly front office team Liv, Pam and Teresa will be located there and can offer all of the services that were available in our old front office (drop offs and pickups, first aide, parent payments, etc). There will be signs showing staff, students and families how to get here. All visitors to our school will enter the grounds via the corner gate entrance at the intersection of Constance and Atherton Streets, via the Year 1 playground entrance on Atherton Street or via the side entrance on Constance street beside the new mural. During this project I will move my office to the Library with the other C block staff move to different locations within our school. Like before, to schedule a meeting with any of our team members please visit the front office at their new location Y02 or call the office on 40928100.
At this end of this term we will farewell and welcome some new staff to Mareeba SS. After 26yrs as an educator Ms Barbara Robinson has made the decision to retire. Barb has been a much-loved staff member at Mareeba SS and I personally have enjoyed the bright, colourful personality she has brought to the team. Please join me in wishing Barb all the very best for her newest adventures! Replacing Barb in Semester 2 will be Mrs Gemma Chatfield (Quigg) and Ms Brenna Watkins who will share the music teacher role. Due to family commitments, Ms Rachel Lendich will be leaving Mareeba SS to move closer to home. Ms Paula Saunders will join the MSS team as the teacher for 3L for Semester 2. Please join me in welcoming Paula to our school.
As Semester 2 ends I wish to thank our wonderful families for their continued support for our students and our school. Just a reminder that report cards will be emailed home today and for those students requiring a hard copy, these will be given to your child at the end of the day. If you haven't done so already, please ensure your email address is updated with our front office by calling 40928100 or emailing admin@mareebass.eq.edu.au I look forward to an action-packed Term 3 and wish everyone a safe and happy Winter holidays. See you back on Monday 11th July.