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 4 Week 4 2024
From the Principal
Dear Mapleton State School Families,
Welcome back to the final term of the year. I’d like to take a moment to celebrate our school’s wonderful achievements and share some important upcoming events.
First and foremost, a huge congratulations to Amaris, who recently competed at the State Championships for Athletics in Brisbane. Amaris placed 3rd in the 100m sprint and 4th in the 200m sprint and has been selected to represent Queensland at the nationals later this term. This is an incredible achievement, and we are all so proud of him. The entire Mapleton community will be cheering him on!
I would also like to acknowledge our students who attended the hinterland music camp recently representing our school with pride.
A big thank you to our P&C for their continued dedication and contributions this year. Thanks to their tireless fundraising efforts, we now have two brand-new "excellence gazebos" adorned with our school insignia for use at sporting and cultural events. Additionally, they’ve successfully applied for a grant to purchase two extra sound fields to enhance classroom learning experiences. Construction on the carport for our compost bays and garden will soon commence, followed by the planting phase and acquittal of the gardening grant—what a massive effort from everyone involved!
This weekend, they’ll be back in action at the state election, selling sausages and raising money for our school. We also deeply appreciate their support of our staff on World Teachers' Day, making our team feel incredibly valued.
Looking ahead, we have some exciting events lined up for Term 4:
- Swimming lessons for our Prep to Year 4 students and surf awareness for our Year 5 and 6 students.
- Our annual school concert is scheduled for Tuesday of Week 9, where we look forward to showcasing our students' talents.
- Graduation for our Year 6 students will take place in Week 10, marking an important milestone in their educational journey.
- In the last week of term, students will be rewarded for their hard work in 2024 with a special end-of-term rewards day. Years 3-6 will head to Aussie World, while Prep to Year 2 students will enjoy a fun day at school. Further details will follow, and thanks to the P&C’s "Containers for Change" fund, we can help cover some of the costs for these events.
This term is an 11-week term, and full supervision will be provided for students during the final week, which will include an alternative timetable of activities. This will give teachers time to prepare for an exciting 2025, and more details will be shared soon.
We also ask parents to check their emails, including junk folders, for reminders about lost library books. If books aren’t returned, a $20 fee will be invoiced to cover replacement costs. As always, if there are any concerns, please contact the office, and we’ll work together to find a solution.
Our school continues to grow, and we’re delighted to report an increase from 156 students at the start of the year to 175 in Term 4. It’s been wonderful to welcome so many new families into our supportive community.
Lastly, a reminder that Cosmic Kids is on Thursday, November 7th. Please contact the office for more details.
Thank you all for your ongoing support and involvement in making Mapleton State School ‘top of the range’.
Warm regards,
Aaron Willis
Principal, Mapleton State School
Year 3 News
Turtle Care Talk
Leisa from the Sunshine Coast Council Turtle Care program visited our school to teach us about the endangered Loggerhead turtles. Our turtle season begins in November, and we learnt many interesting facts.
- They put trackers on turtles, so they know how far they travel to their feeding ground
- The mother turtle lays the eggs and then returns to the ocean. She doesn’t come back to check on them!
- Each turtle can lay 5 nests in a season.
- The average number of eggs in a nest is about 130
- The eggs are the size of ping pong balls and are soft and squishy, so they don’t crack when being dropped into the nest
- Green turtles and loggerhead turtles make different tracks with their flippers
- The baby turtles hatch from the egg inside the nest and feed on a small amount of yolk until all the hatchlings are ready to emerge. This may be three days.
- The trained Turtle Care volunteers measure a turtle along the spine of the shell (carapace) and may have to remove a barnacle to get an accurate measurement
- Too much light can affect the turtle and she may not lay or the hatchlings may get disorientated and not make it to the ocean
- The turtles are very good at disguising the top of their nest so you can’t find the eggs.
- Mrs Longhurst and her son Tom have been Turtle Care volunteers for 10 years.
English
We are reading Kumiko and the dragon by Briony Stewart.
“Kumiko doesn't like going to bed. She can't sleep, and the reason she can't sleep is because of the giant dragon that sits outside her bedroom window, every single night. This delightful story will take young readers on a soaring dragon adventure, as Kumiko discovers a strength she never even knew she had.”
We are starting our unit by comprehending the story and will finish by writing a new adventure for Kumiko and her dragon.
Maths
This term we will be investigating the likelihood of events and conducting chance experiments. We are also solving word problems and creating algorithms. An algorithm is a set of instructions for completing a task. Of course, our task will be maths related!
Instrumental News
2024 Hinterland Music Camp
Concert Band musicians in Years 5 & 6 travelled to Tunnel Ridge Ranch at Landsborough for an overnight Band Camp in Week 3. Our musicians began camp by participating in fun and challenging team building & outdoor activities at the beautiful grounds of Tunnel Ridge, making new friends and encountering the local wildlife & camp horses.
Ten Hinterland schools collaborated to intensively work on nine new band pieces, culminating in an exhilarating concert for parents and principals on Day 2 of the camp. It was an incredibly rewarding and enriching two days of music making. Mapleton SS students positively represented their school in every aspect and brought such joy to the camp. Congratulations to all our musicians that attended; I can’t wait for next year!
My New Gallery
