Mapleton State School acknowledges the traditional custodians of the place we now call our school.
We pay our respects to the Elders past and present and are proud to be supporting and encouraging emerging Indigenous leaders every day.
Term 2 Week 5 2025
From the Principal
Dear Mapleton families,
With your support, the first half of the term has been rich with learning and community spirit:
- ANZAC Day – our students represented the school with pride at both the school and town to commemorative service.
- Nambour District Cross-Country – congratulations to every runner who represented the school with pride.
- Mother’s Day Stall – a heartfelt thanks to our P&C volunteers for stocking tables with treasures and smiles.
- Under 8s Day – what a joy to watch our youngest learners explore, create and play alongside so many family helpers.
Learning, Assessment & Reporting
We are now at the halfway point of the term, and teachers are guiding students through assessment tasks that showcase the concepts and skills taught so far. Each class spends time explicitly unpacking task sheets, modelling answers and understanding success criteria, so students know exactly what to expect.
How you can help at home
- Create a quiet, well-lit space for homework, revision or assessment tasks.
- Discuss task instructions in your own words – if children can explain it, they understand it.
- Encourage balanced routines: early nights, healthy snacks and screen-free downtime.
- Celebrate effort – progress often shows up before perfection does.
Term 2 is a reporting term. Digital report cards will be emailed to parents on the 27th of June. Please ensure the office has your current email address.
Staying healthy this flu season
To keep our community well:
- Pack a water bottle and remind children to hydrate.
- Reinforce thorough handwashing (20 seconds with soap) after the bathroom and before eating.
- Keep sick children at home until 24 hours fever-free.
- Teach “elbow sneezes” and proper tissue use.
- Consider a flu vaccination if advised by your health professional.
Thank you for helping limit the spread of winter bugs.
Attendance & calm morning starts
Average daily attendance has risen to 93 %, up three percentage points on the same time last year—a fantastic effort that directly supports learning and wellbeing. A few reminders below.
- Classrooms open at 8:50 am. Being seated and settled by the bell allows teachers to welcome students in a calm and orderly manner.
- Students arriving after 8:50am miss the morning briefing and often feel rushed; late arrivals also interrupt the class, impacting on other students start to the day.
- Before-school supervision runs from 8:30 am in the undercover area.
- If you need to chat with the teacher, please arrange a time; after 8:50am they are focused on providing support to students and a seamless start to the school day.
Dates for your diary (second half of Term 2)
Date | Event | Details |
Mon 26 May | Mother’s Day Raffle Draw | Family photo-shoot prize kindly donated by Wave Photography. Tickets still at the front office. |
Mon 2 Jun, 6 pm | Cosmic Kids @ Mapleton Observatory | An evening of stargazing. |
Wed 11 Jun, 1:45 pm | 800 m event (Year 3-6 students) | On the school oval – prior to Athletics Carnival. |
Thu 12 Jun | Mapleton SS Athletics Carnival | Full program via SZapp. Families welcome. |
Fri 13 Jun | Nambour Show Day (Public Holiday) | School closed. |
Friday 20 Jun | 5 Nations Soccer | Details in letter provided to parents |
Tue 24 Jun | Small Schools Athletics Carnival | Selected students will receive information notes. |
We look forward to these upcoming school events. Your partnership—whether cheering at carnivals, reading with your child, or ensuring they arrive ready to learn—creates the culture that makes our school great.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the office or your child’s teacher.
Warm regards,
Aaron Willis
Principal
Prep News
This term in Prep we have been learning all about writing sentences. We are learning to sound out words, use finger spaces, capitals and full stops. We are learning about information texts and have been using our sentence writing skills to share what we are learning about animals.
In Maths, the Preps have been practising telling and representing addition and take-away stories using different materials. We have practised using the words “more/less” to explain the total afterwards.
Year 1 News
This term in Year 1 we have been learning about animals to create an informative text. The students have found facts on Bears, Crocodiles and Kangaroos and have been writing simple sentences with adjectives and verbs. Ms Bentley is super impressed with their learning!
Our sock puppets have been a fun way to engage in our design technology unit. All students have really enjoyed designing and making puppets as well as using the puppet theatres to tell a story and entertain each other.
Year 2 News
It has been a super fun and creative learning this term. We have been working with 2-digit numbers and showing our working using MAB’s, hundreds charts, split and jump strategy in Maths. In English we have been writing Information or Informative Texts about animals, and drawing, and labelling diagrams using expanded noun groups. Putting on Puppet Shows at play time and learning about earth’s natural resources in science. Students loved feeling the different soils (sand, loam), specifically the crawly beautiful vermicomposting worms form Mrs Shillig’s worm café. Under 8’s Day was bittersweet for our Year 2’s as they made the connection it was their last before crossing over that invisible line to being ‘over 8’s’ next year. Still, they had a ball. The size of the ‘cardboard carpark’ and smiling faces told me it was THE BEST DAY!
Year 3 News
Welcome Aiden and Matilda. We are enjoying having you in our class.
A highlight for this term has been learning how to produce a lip-synch animation using the Stop Motion app. So much fun!
We use different mouth shapes to form the syllables of each
Our Media Arts assessment for this term is to animate a funny poem.
Maths this term involves us to partition, rearrange and regroup numbers to help with solving addition, subtraction and multiplication problems involving two- and three-digit numbers, Phew!
Partitioning: 345 + 567
- Add the hundreds 300 + 500 = 800
- Add the tens 40 + 60 = 100
- Add the ones 5 + 7 = 12
- Add the totals 800 + 100 + 12 = 912
Partitioning is just one strategy that we use to solve problems. We will also learn vertical addition and subtraction as well as compensation strategies.
We have also been estimating, measuring and comparing units of time.
How long do you think it took your child to walk around the oval?
In English we are writing an Information Text about an animal of our own choice. We have been learning about the features of information texts in preparation for writing our own. e.g. photographs, special print, etc.
Our unit for Science is ‘Spinning Earth’ and we are exploring how day and night occur, sunrise and sunset and our shadows. Thanks, Charlie, for sharing your in-depth knowledge.
HASS focussed on ANZAC Day and there were lots of discussions following the services.
Thank you for having your child ready to learn each day. We appreciate your support.
Fiona and Sarah
Year 4 News
Year 4 are currently creating amazing PowerPoint displays relating to an Australian animal of their choice. The students are developing skills and knowledge that they can take with them to high school. It has been eye-opening listening to amazing facts that the students have found out about their particular animal.
In technology, the students had to design, create and evaluate a healthy ice block made from fresh fruit. The staffroom looked like a scene from MasterChef with Mrs P constantly reminding them about hygiene practices. Many unusual creations were produced and now the students are waiting for their creations to freeze before trying the sweet delights… or sour!!
As we are getting closer to our sports day, the Year 4 students have been practising their running, throwing and relay skills. Many are getting very excited for this event. It has been so wonderful to see our class working so well together and building strong relationships.
Working in group situations where we are prioritising specific jobs has been a focus of ours. We are developing leadership skills by allowing our students to experience leadership roles, speaking roles and also learning what it means to be a team player.
We are heavily into assessment work and we are very impressed with the effort all of our students are putting in relating to all tasks. We always speak about learning from our mistakes, building resilience and being persistent. These are lifelong skills the students can apply to all life experiences. Time has definitely flown by this year but we have so many more experiences to look forward to during this term and the next semester. We would once again like to thank our parents for their support of their students and it has been wonderful building strong, positive relationships.
Oh, an update on Jerry. He is our unusual member of our class. Ok…he is a giant huntsman spider who pops up in the most unusual places and times. Jerry appeared again the other day and watched our science lesson on life cycles. Hopefully he paid attention and will learn from what was taught.
Looking forward to the rest of the year.
Mrs P, Mr Price and all the Year 4 students.
Year 5 News
Kids in Action – Environmental Leaders of Tomorrow
We are thrilled to announce that for the third year, our Grade 5 and 6 students will be participating in the Kids in Action program, an inspiring environmental initiative run by the Sunshine Coast Council in collaboration with Sunshine Coast University.
This year’s program will take place over two days — September 17th and 18th — with the first day being held at the beautiful Maroochy Bushland Botanic Gardens.
Throughout these two days, our students will take part in a wide range of engaging activities focusing on:
🌿 Land and Waterways Care
🌿 Indigenous Knowledge and Connections
🌿 Sustainability and Waste Management
🌿 Animal Welfare and Marine Conservation
🌿 Research and Environmental Stewardship
🌿 Public Speaking and Communication
The program offers a valuable opportunity for students to learn from experts, connect with nature, and collaborate with peers from other local schools. It’s a wonderful chance for our young learners to deepen their understanding of environmental issues and become active contributors to a more sustainable future.
Stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to the event!
Chicken Coop Chronicles – Latest Chicken Update!
Our feathered friends in the school chicken coop are thriving! The students have been doing a fantastic job caring for the hens — keeping their coop clean, ensuring fresh food and water, and even collecting eggs.
Here’s what’s been happening lately:
🐔 Back in January, thanks to the P& C we purchased 10 chickens, these were only small and we did not know the sex at this stage. We ended up with a few roosters. We kept them for a while, but unfortunately, due to their noisy behaviour they all went to good homes. Soon after we had two mums sitting on eggs, we were lucky to have two babies hatch and these are now running around with their Mums.
🐔 Learning Responsibility: Tending to the chickens teaches valuable life skills — from daily routines to teamwork and animal care.
🐔 Sustainability in Action: The coop is also a hands-on way to explore sustainability, with food scraps being recycled as chicken feed and coop waste being turned into garden compost.
A big thank you to our student volunteers from Grade 6 for their hard work and care! Also, a shout out to Kerrie from the tuckshop for looking after these babies on the weekends and holidays. In the coming months the Grade 5 Students will be also involved in the care of the chickens.
Stay tuned for more chicken updates as our flock continues to grow.
Grade 5 Classroom Update – Learning, Creating & Growing!
Our Grade 5 students have been busy learners this term, diving into exciting projects and building valuable skills across all subjects. Here’s a snapshot of what’s been happening in the classroom:
Literacy Focus: Students are exploring information report writing as well as finding authoritative sources and comprehending information text. We have been participating in our daily PLD program for spelling.
Maths in Action: Factors, multiples and the four operations are the current challenge, with hands-on activities making these tricky topics more engaging and fun. We started to play some maths games to help with the four operations and it’s so much more fun.
Inquiry Learning: Science - Grade 5 students are embarking on an exciting journey through space as we begin our unit on The Solar System! Over the next few weeks, students will explore the Sun, planets, moons, asteroids, and other celestial bodies that make up our cosmic neighbourhood. Through hands-on activities, interactive models, and engaging research projects, students will learn about:
The order and characteristics of the planets in our solar system.
The role of the Sun as a star and its importance to life on Earth.
Fascinating facts about space exploration and current missions.
We encourage families to support this learning at home by:
- Visiting some stargazing apps.
- Reading space-themed books or watching educational videos together.
- Discussing current space news, such as NASA or SpaceX missions.
Creative Arts: Our Design Tech Unit/Visual Art unit is Called “Grand Shelter Designs” Student’s design and make a product that supports wildlife to coexist with humans in the school environment and our communities. Our Grade 5 cohort will be making “Frog Hotels” later you will see these in our gardens.
Teamwork & Leadership: Through group projects and classroom responsibilities, students are building their collaboration and leadership skills daily. The students have been all participating in roles around the classroom to build these skills. It’s been wonderful to see the enthusiasm, creativity, and hard work of our Grade 5 students shining through.
Michelle Moore Grade 5 Teacher
2024 Kids in Action
Year 6 News
First up we have been spending lots of time with our Prep buddies. We have been learning more about them and what they like to do.
In Drama, we have been learning about and how to role play in a melodrama. We are doing a play including a hero, heroine and a villain.
In Design and Technology we have been using Makey Makeys and circuits to make a playable arcade game.
In Science we have been learning about circuits and how electricity flows through them. We are also learning about turbines and how they provide electricity as a renewable source.
Finally in HASS we have been learning about Federation of Australia and important people who helped the act of Federation.
Ethan and Amaris
