Did you blink and miss Term 3 – I feel like I did! I want to celebrate with staff, students and families on our strong start and strong finish to the term. Talk about a strong finish, we kicked off week 10 with our annual Art Show officially opened by Mayor Toppin on Monday. The exhibition is a feast for the eyes and showcases student art work created in visual art lessons with Ms Caitlin Bale, lunch time art club and in class with classroom teachers as well as art pieces created at home. I hope you had a chance to view it!
In preparation for our Parent-Teacher-Student interviews, our teachers had the opportunity to moderate student work samples last week to ensure consistency of achievement against the Australian Curriculum. Our target at MSS is to have 80% of students achieve C or above for English, Maths and Science and I was pleased to hear of the amazing student successes at our recent moderation afternoons.
On that note, thank you to all of our wonderful families who came along to the parent-teacher-student interviews on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Our school working hand-in-hand with you, our families, 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.
Class Dispersal
Recently I have received a number of queries regarding our Class Dispersal System. What is it? Good question! Due to a number of factors, and like many other schools across Qld, Mareeba SS has been unable to source qualified teachers to replace absent teaching staff. When we have been unable to source a replacement teacher, we have made the decision to 'disperse' classes amongst other classes in that year level. This means, on occasion, your child's class may have been split up with a small number of children from the class going into the other classes in the year level. By dispersing classes into other classes in that year level we have been able to ensure your child is still be taught and assessed on the same age-appropriate curriculum. Thanks to some great parent feedback, starting this week you will receive a generic SMS from the school on the days your child's class has been dispersed, giving you a heads up and opportunity to chat about this with your child when they arrive home.
Did you hear our exciting news? For many years the team at MSS have worked hard to try and source as many additional resources to support our students as we possibly can. Starting in Term 4 we welcome Tina Taylor as our very first Social Worker. Tina's role will work alongside the Guidance Officer and will offer a range of 1-1 and small group opportunities for students as well as providing education to staff and families alike. Stay tuned on our Facebook page for more information.