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 4
From the Principal
School Review
Our four-year school review will take place during Week 7, Monday the 29th to Wednesday the 31st of May. The review panel will consist of three reviewers who are either part of the School and Region Reviews team or principals from outside of our region. The panel will assess the school across the nine domains of the National School Improvement Tool:
- An explicit improvement agenda
- Analysis and discussion of data
- A culture that promotes learning
- Targeted use of school resources
- An expert teaching team
- Systematic curriculum delivery
- Differentiated teaching and learning
- Effective pedagogical practices
- School-community partnerships.
The panel members will meet with staff, students and parent/carers. So don’t be surprised if you are approached by an unfamiliar face before or after school wanting to ask you some questions. Based on the findings, a series of recommendations will be made for the school to incorporate into our four-year strategic plan. The Executive Summary report, will be published on our school website. Having been through this process before, I am keen to meet with the review panel and to help develop the next phase of Mapleton’s strategic plan.
OSHC- Outside of School Hours Care
We are hearing many positive comments from families about the new OSHC offered by KidzMob. As our morning supervision starts at 8:30am, we encourage families to use the service for students that need to be on school grounds before 8:30am. Centrelink rebates are available. For further information, please contact Charlotte from KidsMob at Charlotte Meland admin@kidzmob.com.au
Lion's Club Donation
A huge thank you to the Blackall Range Lions Club for supporting our students at Mapleton. The Lions have kindly donated $150 to our Tuck Shop so that our students can enjoy Free Fruit Friday. We know that this will be well received by our school community.
Car Park challenges
We know the afternoons are tricky with the number of vehicles trying to access the car park. While we work with the Sunshine Coast Council on some possible long-term solutions, there is something that can be done now. The signage next to the lane immediately in front of the Admin Building allows parking for 2 minutes from 2:30pm to 3:15pm. Families are asked to not park in this space and to observe the time limits.
School Uniform
Now that the days are getting colder, it’s time to get those winter clothes out. Families are asked to remember that we do have a student Dress code at Mapleton. The school uniform, designed by a committee of parents, reflects our school community standards, and is consistent with occupational health and safety and anti-discrimination legislation. The dress code aims to contribute to a safe and supportive teaching and learning environment through:
- ready identification of students and non-students at school
- fostering a sense of pride and belonging
- developing mutual respect among students by minimising visible evidence of economic or social differences.
A student may have their attendance at non-essential learning activities limited if they are not able to follow the school dress code e.g. sporting events and excursions.
The uniform consists of:
- school polo shirt with emblem (navy and green)
- navy bottoms as preferred e.g. shorts, long pants, netball skirt, plain skirt, culottes
- dress (in school colours)
- navy hat (8cm brim) or navy legionnaire hat (to meet sun safety standards)
- closed shoes with navy socks (to be worn at all times, unless specific permission to remove them is given by a teacher)
- navy jacket or jumper for colder months
- t-shirt in house colour for interhouse sporting activities.
Children may wear watches and sleeper or stud earrings to school. Other jewellery including wrist bands, anklets, spacers, and piercings other than a single ear stud should not be worn. Please advise the school if your child must wear an item for medical or religious purposes. Children with long hair are asked to wear their hair up for hygiene purposes.
Facilities/Infrastructure- work completed
Since our last newsletter, the following work has been completed across the school:
- Drainage work near Prep building completed. This has been done to reduce the amount of water that flows under the Prep building during severe weather.
- Tree work in garden opposite B Block. Removal of invasive species.
- New café blinds on Prep building for weather protection.
- Observatory external painting.
- Air conditioner installed in OSHC.
- Air conditioner replacement in Year 2 classroom.
- New student desks in Years 3 to 6 end of last term.
- Playground equipment inspection- report received and is currently being reviewed.
- Evacuation Plans/Maps updated- our evacuation plans now comply with current standards.
Dental Van
The Queensland Health Dental Van is expected to arrive at Mapleton SS Thursday 15 June, 2023 Consent forms will be sent home in Week 5.
Free Vision Screening
In partnership with the Blackall Range Lions, we will be offering a free vision screening for all students at Mapleton State School. The dates are the 6th and 7th of June. Consent forms will be sent home in Week 5.
School anniversary
The Mapleton Provisional School opened on 17 July 1899 with an enrolment of 15 students, and teacher Lizzie Fitzgerald. The building was built by the locals with the agreement that it be used for public gatherings and social events during out of school hours.
Wednesday the 17th of July 2024 will be the 125th anniversary of Mapleton State School. Time to start planning.
Sheila’s retirement
After over thirty years of service, Sheila Maclachlan will be retiring later this year. Sheila first started at Mapleton on the 23rd of January, 1988. During this time, Sheila’s care and professionalism have touched everyone she has met. In the short time I have been at Mapleton, one of the standard lines I hear is “Ask Sheila, she will know.” While Sheila might not want us to make too much fuss, you can’t be part of a school community for this length of time and slip away quietly. Sheila’s last day will be on Monday the 22nd of May. We invite members of the Mapleton School Community to help us celebrate by attending an afternoon tea, from 2:00pm to 3:00pm. Please bring a plate to share. Staff and students will also be attending. Further details will be sent out through the SZapp closer to the time.
Curriculum Corner
Prep News
This term in Prep we are exploring Fairy Tales. Each week we are reading and exploring a new Fairy Tale. We talk about the events, settings and characters in these stories. The children identify events and characters that they liked or didn’t like in each story.
The children are excited to begin using our new puppet theatre to retell the stories they are learning.
This week the children made their own puppets for the 3 Billy Goats Gruff. We had fun retelling the story using our character voices for the troll and the different billy goats!
Year 5/6 News
Kids in Action
On Friday 5th May the 5/6 Class attended "The Environmental Projects Day" at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Mapleton Students along with 23 local schools participated in a truly exceptional day of talks and workshops which explored HEROES of the biosphere. Students were immersed in and engaged with traditional knowledge systems and practices and learnt about our local area. We look forward to choosing our project for the next Kids in Action Day in September.
Celebrating the Arts
We love to celebrate the arts at Mapleton. The year 3/4 class is exploring found object sculpture this semester. Some very interesting impressions were made.
In Design Technology with Mrs. P. The year 1 and year 2 students have had great fun designing their puppets and using their creative and critical thinking skills. So many great skills being developed while having fun.
Chappy News
Book Club
Thank you to everybody for ordering from Book Club. Every purchase earns reward points for the school to order books for our library. Pictured below are the books we ordered from Issue 3. Keep an eye out for Issue 4.
It is easy to order. The Book Club LOOP platform for parents allows you to pay by credit card. Your child’s order is submitted directly to school safe and sound and the books will be delivered to class. You can place your child’s order at scholastic.com.au/LOOP or using the LOOP app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.
