brisbane montessori school pathways learning for life€¦ · p&f secretary is uttara kennedy....
TRANSCRIPT
Pathways .April 2019Term 1
April 2019Good Friday Public Holiday Friday 19 April
Easter Monday Public Holiday Monday 22 April
First Day of Term 2 Tuesday 23 April
Anzac Day Public Holiday Thursday 25 April
May 2019Market Stalls Fridays 3, 17 & 31 May
Labour Day Public Holiday Monday 6 May
Parent Information Evening: Dr Paula Barret, ‘Anxiety and Resilience in Children’ Tuesday 7 May, 6–7:30pm
Photos for Reports Friday 10 May
NAPLAN for yrs 3, 5, 7 & 9 14–17 May
Board Meeting – AGM Monday 20 May
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, 9–11am
Jump Rope for Heart Thursday 30 May, 1–3pm
“Preventing conflict is the work of politics; establishing peace is the work of education.”
– Maria Montessori
Brisbane Montessori School Learning for Life
Calendar
Dear Parents,
As a Montessori school, we work hard towards creating a culture of peace. As in every community we have common goals and shared values but, at times, there will also be differences. This is because we are all individuals, we experience things differently and we have different perspectives and opinions. As a result, there will inevitably be challenges and obstacles to creating a culture of peace.
When we are confronted by these difficulties, we need to remember to pause, step back and reflect before acting. We need to ask ourselves how to deal with difficult situations, remembering our shared values and the power of small acts of kindness. When communicating with others we need to consider our words carefully and show respect.
We were very excited to have members of the wider community join us in celebrating the completion of the new library and sports court this morning. We look forward to enjoying many experiences using these wonderful additions to the school with the children in term 2. As for all our school activities and facilities, we have guidelines about the use of these new additions to foster peaceful and harmonious interactions among all users. We balance the respectful use of facilities with the privilege of having them.
As we go into the Easter break, we hope that this will be a time to reconnect with your family. We wish you a blessed Easter and restful holidays.
Yours for our children
May SelkirkPrincipal
Announcements
Staff Changes May Selkirk will be on long service leave in term 2 and Allen Kloeden, a past principal of the school, will be acting in her position.
Scott Cromwell will be taking on a day of administration duties each week and will be replaced in his classroom on that day by Annie Moritz during term 2. Annie has completed the NAMC (North American Montessori Centre) Upper Elementary training.
We farewell Hannah Hayes as HPE teacher and thank her for the contribution she has made to PE, Health and Irish Dancing.
We also bid farewell to Beth Matthews, who will be returning to Catholic education. We appreciate her input into our Learning Support and Middle School over the past three years.
The school has placed advertisements for these positions and will commence interviews as soon as possible.
Message from the Board Are you looking for a way to support our Montessori community? At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Brisbane Montessori School Ltd on 20 May at 6pm we will be electing up to four members to our board of directors. We are looking for people who believe in our mission and will guide and inspire by focusing on setting strategic direction and policy to attain long-term outcomes for the school.
We are particularly interested in candidates with expertise in business management, legal matters, education, marketing and communications, or any other areas that can add to the diversity of thought and perspective of the board.
To be elected as a director you must: • be a parent of a child at the school • hold or be able to obtain a Blue Card • be willing to provide your talents, knowledge and skills to the service of the community.
We ask our directors to participate in monthly board meetings and provide their expertise to assist the school. Directors are elected for a period of two years before being required to stand for re-election. However, we encourage all potential directors to consider this role as a four-year commitment.
To learn more about becoming a director or to express your interest please contact Sandy Horwood, Acting Business Manager, at the school office on 3327 0600 or Valerie Bares. We ask candidates to become familiar with the constitution and the strategic plan, which can be found on our school website under ‘Getting Involved’. https://www.bms.qld.edu.au/getting-involved/
Current Board Members: Valerie Bares (Chair), Angela de Vine, Anthony Hatherley, Catherine Kenna, Peter le Clercq, Charl Morkel, Reneke van Soest and Karen Walters.
Announcements
Class Representatives Appointed We now have a full list of class representatives. Many thanks to you all for assisting in communicating between classrooms, parents and the Parents and Friends Association. Please note that this position is not a sounding board for concerns or queries, but rather a communication channel for assisting with community and social events.
Lotus – Chantell Taylor Acacia – Jen Zummo and Wendy Streatfield Casuarina – Emma Harper and Nicola Lidgett Grevillea – Olivia Hood Melaleuca – Carrie Crealey Tulipwood – Nelly Bolda Waratah – Jola O' Malley and Shweta Foulger Bilby – Taryn Quinn Borobi – Leah Hynes and Kate Blunt Dunnart – Cindy Liu and Craig Walker Wondai – Thuli Makutseng Amanzi – Suzanne Bacon Moana – Nina Anderson Yinduru – Suzanne Bacon Poseidon – Valerie Morkel
Working With Your Child – Upper Primary and Middle School On Thursday 14 March (Middle School) and Tuesday 19 March (Upper Primary) parents enjoyed special time with their child while being involved in their learning.
Parent–Teacher Conferences – Wednesdays 20 & 27 March This year the parent–teacher conferences were held in a new format. They were held on two afternoons, the Wednesdays of week 8 and week 9 from 3:15 to 6:15pm. The meetings were 15 minutes each and were held in general meeting areas, not in the individual classrooms, to facilitate getting from one meeting to another. Staff commented that the new format worked well. Parents have also given positive feedback.
Recent Events
Recent Events (cont.)
Children’s House Autumn Celebration – Tuesday 26 March On Tuesday 26 March, the three- to six-year-old children celebrated autumn with a variety of autumn craft activities.
Thank you very much to all for your help with the activities.
Upper Primary Cosmic Campout – Friday 15 March The format of this much-loved event had to be changed because of the risk of storms and heavy rain during the night. While the rain poured down throughout the campout and the evening’s events had been cut short, the Upper Primary students' spirits were in no way dampened.
Students spent the afternoon playing a range of games in the hall and worked through some improvised drama activities. After a delicious dinner they ventured into the night to hear our cosmic story.
Despite the night sky being hidden, they enjoyed the evening, which ended with delighting in the warmth and comfort of hot cross buns. A huge thank you goes out to the staff, parents and students who were flexible and positive about the last-minute changes to the event.
Lower Primary Swimming This term Lower Primary students took the bus in weeks 2–9 to the John Carew Swim School to refine their stroke and style. This important offering occurred across eight sessions with school staff pleased with the swim school location, no public pool use during our lessons and the friendliness of the swimming coaches. The pick-up and drop-off point of the bus was moved due to the building work to provide a safe departure point. It has been a successful programme.
Recent Events (cont.)
Middle School Journey of Man through Time Campout – Friday 22 to Saturday 23 March This was a fantastic opportunity for students to learn some basic bush survival skills and to develop an appreciation of the modern-day facilities and resources available to them.
Students gained an insight into how far humanity has progressed over time and, through reflection, the opportunity to develop empathy for early humans and their struggle to survive in harsh conditions. The weather was warm, and we had a clear sky full of stars.
Our new camping site behind Moana provided many resources that the students made use of to build their shelters for the night and to set up a fire for cooking. Students enjoyed sharing campfire stories with each other and May dropped by to share an African tale. It was a wonderful experience for all.
Middle School Humanities Excursion to the University of Queensland – Friday 29 March
Poseidon students enjoyed an interesting trip to UQ on Friday 29 March to study human evolution and archaeology.
Recent Events (cont.)
Parents and Friends Association The Parents and Friends Association (P&F) have held two meetings this year already.
The role of P&F President is shared by Magdalene Heidrich and Nancy Parnham. P&F Secretary is Uttara Kennedy. The Treasurer is Ana Hatherley.
The P&F also hosted the Welcome Café on the morning of Friday 15 March. Many new and continuing parents attended and enjoyed coffee and cake in the Parents Room.
Book Fair This year’s Book Fair, held on Thursday 28 and Friday 29 March and hosted by the P&F, was well attended and enjoyed by our children and parents.
New books by Scholastic were on sale and our families kindly donated their own books, which were sold for a gold coin donation.
We thank our families for generously donating books on the class wish lists to the new library.
The first sausage sizzle of the year was held on Friday 29 March. The event was well supported by our families and our P&F members. A big thank you to all.
If you would like to be involved in the P&F, please send an email to [email protected].
End-of-term Assembly and Opening Ceremony for Library and Covered Sports Court We were delighted that more than 150 people joined staff and students to celebrate the opening of the new library and covered sports court this morning at 9:15. Our children contributed to the ceremony with beautiful music, which they had practised during the term.
The ceremony began with a ‘Welcome to Country’ by local Elder Uncle Sam Watson. This was followed by a speech by our school Board Chair, Valerie Bares, in which she explained the master planning behind the build, and a performance by the school band. The Minister’s representative Ms Jess Pugh, MP, officially opened the library and sports court, along with the students, who cut the ribbons. An Irish Dance was performed by the Middle School. Our Principal, May Selkirk, brought the ceremony to a close with thanks. After singing the national anthem, students went back to their classrooms, where they enjoyed a morning tea while parents and guests moved to the library, where a morning tea was provided.
Opening Ceremony
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
Sports Court Monday from 7:30am
Dance Therapy* – Boys’ Hip Hop
Shannon Lovell OCC Therapy 3378 9543 or [email protected]
Nganbirra Hall Monday 3:30 to 4:15pm
Dance Therapy* – Girls’ Contemporary
Shannon Lovell OCC Therapy 3378 9543 or [email protected]
Nganbirra Hall Monday 4:15 to 5:00pm
French Club(Primary/MS)
Milena Richardson [email protected] Poseidon House Tuesday 3:15 to
4:00pm
Choir (Lower Primary)
Bradley Mavin [email protected]
Poseidon House Music Room Wednesday 3:15 to
3:45pm
Yoga* ($10 per session)
Kajal Thaker 0433-333-829
Nganbirra Hall Wednesday 3:30 to 4:10pm
Band (Upper Primary and older)
Bradley Mavin [email protected]
Poseidon House Music Room Thursday 3:15 to
4:15pm
Clogging* East Coast [email protected] Parent Room Thursday 3:15pm
French Club (Children’s House)
Milena Richardson [email protected] Poseidon House Friday 8:00 to
8:40am
Piano/Guitar* Bradley Mavin [email protected]
Poseidon House Music Room
Individual lessons by appointment
Chess (6–15 years) Ash Reddy – 0415 256 452 or [email protected]
Poseidon verandah
Friday (from week 2)
3:00 to 4:00pm
Sport TBA Sports Court TBA 3:15 to 4:15pm
Extra Middle School Offerings
Activity Contact Venue Day Time
Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme (children 11.5 yrs +)
TBA Studio8 Monday fortnightly – dates to be confirmed
3:15 to 4:15pm
Film & Media Bradley Mavin [email protected]
Studio8 Tuesday 3:15 to 4:15pm
art@studio8(for Yr 6 and MS students, 12 spaces)
Amalia Cummins [email protected]
Studio8 Wednesday 3:15 to 4:15pm
Band Bradley Mavin [email protected]
Poseidon House
Thursday 3:15 to 4:15pm
*Offered at parents’ own cost and/or subject to sufficient numbers