12 MARCH 2025

PRINCIPAL REPORT

Hello Mooloolah Community,

Well, what an interesting last week we have had with cyclones and floods. Thank you so much for your understanding and co-operation during what was a trying time for all. Having been through a couple of decent sized cyclones myself I am very thankful for our community that Alfred didn’t hit our end of the coast as expected. In saying that however, he certainly packed a punch when it came to the rain. The decision to close the school for 4 days was not one that was made lightly by myself and the department. It came down to the safety of our students, family and staff.

In all, our school didn’t fair too badly and held up well. Over the coming weeks we will be liaising with the education department to have a few minor issues rectified. Currently we have our playgrounds and ovals closed. The ovals are simply too wet to use, once they dry out, we will be back in action on them. Our senior and year 1-2 playground had our soft fall washed away and will be closed until this can be rectified.

It is incredibly important that you take time to look after yourselves and your families. I encourage you to access the information available for parents and students to support health and wellbeing if you are experiencing difficulties due to our recent rain event.

Due to the disruption of our NAPLAN preparations from the flooding we have pushed back the start of NAPLAN for those students involved till Monday the 17 March. We will begin with writing and then work our way through from there. More information around timetabling and NAPLAN has been emailed to those parents whose students are involved.

Let's hope the sun is shining for our school photo’s this coming Friday. Be sure to get in and support our fantastic little school by visiting our Book Fair which is currently running in the mornings and afternoons.

Our P&C next week will be holding their AGM this is a great opportunity to come along and see what they are about and how you may contribute in some small way. We have an amazing P&C here at Mooloolah not only are they hardworking and make a huge difference to our school, they are incredibly social as well. We couldn’t operate as we do without them. Similarly, we are asking for parent volunteers in our school to help with reading or anything else you may support the school with. If you have a little spare time have a chat with your child’s class teacher around how you might assist in the classroom or library.

Our hat badges for our high-flying students have been ordered and the first round will be given out at the end of Semester one.

Our mascot is in the pipeline as well, start having a chat with your child on what we may name it. There will be a school competition run to do so.

Thank you for your ongoing support, it's so nice to be back and into the swing of things.

Cheers

Scott Thompson

HEAD OF CURRICULUM REPORT

I will be on long service leave for a two-week period from 3-14 March. I'm pleased to announce that Emma Craddock will be working in the HOD-C role during this time.

NAPLAN NEWS

Due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred, NAPLAN at our school has been rescheduled. Our Year 3 and Year 5 students will now sit the writing test on Monday, 17 March 2025, with the remaining tests (reading, conventions of language, and numeracy) following in order. We understand that recent events may have added stress, and we are reassuring students that NAPLAN is a normal part of school—participation and doing their best are what matter most. Your support in reinforcing this message at home is greatly appreciated.

For any questions, please contact Mooloolah State School at 5413 6333

BOOK FAIR IS HERE!
From 10-13 March, we will be holding a Scholastic Book Fair at our school. This is a great opportunity to foster a love of reading with our children and purchase some books at great prices through our Book Fair Stall, before and after school. Additionally, there are raffles prizes to be won, and every purchase made goes towards raising valuable funds for our school. 
 We would also love it if any parents had a free morning or afternoon to help us run the stall.                                        The morning is 8.15-8.40 and the afternoon is 3.00-3.30. If you have some spare time, we would greatly appreciate the help, please let us know by contacting us on 5413 6333.

BUSINESS MANAGER REPORT

Student Resource invoices and statement of accounts have been emailed out recently.

If you are experiencing financial difficulty, we can offer assistance through:

• Payment plans
• Centre Pay direct debit
• Liaising with our local community centre

Contact the school office or email to set up a meeting.

SCHOOL PHOTOS

Our school photos have been rescheduled for this Friday -14 March

Please ensure your child is wearing their full school uniform on this day.

It is requested you order and pay online prior to the shoot dates, as per the flyer

If you would like to pay by cash, contact Portrait Patch on 07 5492 7284

AFTER THE BELL

P&C UPDATE

Welcome to a very wet week 7!

Next week, we have our P&C AGM on Wednesday 19 March at 6pm. At the AGM all positions will become vacant, and both our executive team and specialist roles will be re-elected. If you are interested in joining the P&C and a general member or position holder, we would welcome you to come along. Please see below for further details.

Volunteer EOI Survey:  following feedback from some of the P&C members, we have put together a short expression of interest document, with the roles and activities that we need parent and carer volunteers for this year. We would appreciate it if you could take 5 minutes to complete this and either drop it back into the office or email it directly to the P&C at pandc@mooloolahss.eu.edu.au

Uniform Shop: We have run out of size 12 school shirts and are in the process of placing an order for these. If you need this size, please bear with us as it will take a few weeks to order them in. If you are after a school jumper before the cooler months set in, now is a great time to purchase one.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Mooloolah State School P&C Association’s Annual General Meeting is scheduled for: 

Wednesday 19 March 2025

Commencing at 6pm

Held in the school’s staffroom

We encourage all parents to join our P&C – as they say, many hand make light work! Simply download the membership form, complete and return addressed to the P&C either to the school’s office administration, or via email at pandc@mooloolahss.eq.edu.au (both scanned versions and photos of the completed form will be accepted). Printed copies will also be available from the office administration for those who are unable to print the form at home.

At the AGM all executive positions will be declared vacant, and nominations for the 2024 Executive Committee will be tabled for election. These positions are:

• President - provides leadership and is the accountable officer of the P&C. Their role is to act as the public representative of the P&C, encourage communication between the P&C, school and community, and encourage participation to support the P&C. The president chairs all meetings and is educated on all P&C rules and guidelines, including P&C constitution, accounting manual, and all other documents governing P&C operations. The president is the accountable officer for all employment for tuckshop services.

• Vice President - provides essential support for the president and possibly other members of the executive committee. They will chair those meetings from which the president is absent and carry out any duties that have been delegated by the president. They should also be familiar with all P&C rules and guidelines, including P&C constitution and other documents governing P&C operations.

• Treasurer - has the overall responsibility for the financial management of the P&C, including all subcommittee accounts. In their role they must comply with the accounting manual in all respects. They prepare an annual budget and annual operational plan for the association in consultation with other members of the P&C executive committee. It is the treasurer's responsibility to manage and keep accurate accounts of receipts and expenditure.

• Secretary - has overall responsibility to prepare all documents for all meetings, such as agenda, minutes, and other necessary reports (including subcommittee reports) and assists the president in preparing an agenda for each meeting. They present minutes of the P&C meetings, record and deal with correspondence in/out as directed and generally organise, record, and maintain information pertaining to the activities of the P&C.

All P&C executives are responsible for any urgent decisions required outside of P&C meetings.

Along with these executive roles, the P&C is also hoping to introduce the following additional roles for election at the AGM:

• Social media administrator/moderator

• grants writer

• P&C class contact – a parent representative from each class, to liaise with other parents and the teacher and coordinate donations/volunteers for fundraising events 

Key membership information:

• Being a P&C member does not mean that you must attend all meetings. We understand families have busy schedules and sometimes it is physically impossible to commit to attending. We just ask for you to volunteer when and where you can.

• You do not need to attend a meeting to become a member of the P&C. Simply complete the membership form and either return it to the office or email a copy to pandc@mooloolahss.eq.edu.au

• Parents are not required to hold a volunteer blue card in order to volunteer at their child’s school. Any other family member that is not a parent is required to hold a volunteer blue card, in which the P&C are happy to assist with applications.

• All volunteers of the school (including P&C) are required to complete the mandatory volunteer induction training as per Department of Education requirements. This is to ensure that all volunteers are covered under the P&Cs personal accident insurance policy. This training is conducted at the start of the year by the school and is also available at school administration. This takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.

• Remember, the P&C is made up of parents...just like you! The primary goal of the P&C is to enhance the educational opportunities for the students at our school, but along with that, it is also a great platform to –

-Build lifelong friendships with other like-minded parents

-Enhance your skill set

-Become more informed on important school matters and policies and provide parent input

-Give back to our wonderful school community

-And most importantly, have fun!

If there are any questions regarding our upcoming AGM or how to become involved with our P&C, please don't hesitate to contact us at pandc@mooloolahss.eq.edu.au. We look forward to seeing you all at the AGM.

Katrina Mills

P&C President