The final two weeks of this term have been jam-packed with activities for both staff and students. Since my last newsletter we have hosted our 2022 cross country, participated in the National Day of Action against bullying and violence, parent-teacher-student interviews, school photos, celebrated our Artie attendance launch, formed our 2022 P&C Executive committee, held Term 2 planning days and moderation as well as our inaugural Spelling Bee competition.
Well done to our students who participated in our recent cross country. Special mention to Mr Daniel Samanes and Mr Remy Fry for their commitment to our school sport opportunities and their organisation resulting in a superb 2022 cross country. Congratulations to Granite on their successful win and to each of our age champion winners!
Thank you to all of our families who came along to the parent-teacher-student interviews on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Our school working hand-in-hand with you, our parents and carers, and this strong connection is what will make a significant difference to the outcomes of our students. Your involvement and interest in your child's education means a great deal to them, but also to our teachers and school staff who appreciate the opportunity to discuss your child's learning progress with you. Thank you also to those families who attended the P&C AGM. Special thanks to those who accepted positions on the P&C Executive Committee. We know that the more closely our school can work together with our parent group and the community, the better the outcomes will be for all our children.
Our P&C Executive works closely with MSS to fundraise for our school, providing financial support to improve our school facilities and replace necessary resources including our sound-fields to assist our hard of hearing students in every classroom, classroom fridges as well as bus costs for student excursions. In 2022, our P&C is left in the capable hands of our executive committee:
President – Jacinta Rea
Vice-President – Jess Gallaher
Secretary – Tracy Read
Treasurer – Olivia Battistin
Tuckshop coordinator – Lisa Hasite
Uniform shop coordinator – Kate Bresa
I wish to take the opportunity to officially thank Mrs Ivona Carusi and Mrs Tracy Marcel, our former President and Vice-President respectfully, for their generosity of time, commitment and investment towards Mareeba SS. The MSS community appreciated your support. Families are welcome to attend P&C meetings with our next meeting scheduled for Wednesday 27th April, 5pm in the staffroom.
As we have already experienced this year, Term 2 will see a number of staffing changes. Ms Kim Burns and Mrs Kerry Watson will remain as classroom teachers on 3M while Ms Wendy Moller remains on leave. Mr James Bestmann will begin as the classroom teacher of 6J for the remainder of the year. We welcome to our MSS community Ms Ainslie Fraser who will teach 6M for the remainder of the year while Mr Brent May takes on the acting Principal position at Bartle Frere SS. Ms Caitlin Bale will still continue at MSS teaching both Visual Arts on a Monday and Tuesday and as a Disability Support Teacher on a Wednesday. Joining Caitlin, we welcome back Ms Gemma Quigg who will teach Visual Arts on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
This week we also farewell Ms Colleen Watson our Executive Support Officer (ESO). We thank Colleen for her contributions at MSS and wish her all the best for her future endeavours. Our ESO starting Term 2 will be Ms Chantel Mohle and we look forward to welcoming Chantel to the Business Services Team.
Our Term 2 date claimer is full of important dates including our Year 3 & 5 NAPLAN online testing, our school athletics carnival and many more. The first three weeks of Term 2 start with 3 Monday public holidays so our days will be busy. In week 1 each of our five Year 6 classes will travel to TEEC for their Year 6 Leadership Day (check out my Principal Blog on the website this Friday for more information) and will conclude with our Whole School Anzac parade on Friday 22nd April at 9am – all families are welcome to attend.
Finally, for those celebrating Easter traditions this year, have a special weekend. Once again thank you to our Mareeba SS community for a great term. Have a safe and happy break, Term 2 will no doubt be as busy as Term 1! We look forward to seeing you back when school recommences on Tuesday 19th April.
Hannah Simpson
Principal
Mareeba State School