Newsletter Term 2 Week 5 2024
Principal's Message
Dear Parents, Guardians, and Students
Talofa Lava,
As we embark on another fortnight of learning and growth at Mabel Park State School, I would like to take a moment to extend my sincere gratitude to all parents for their continued support and cooperation. Your commitment to ensuring that your children come to school in full uniform each day does not go unnoticed.
I would like to take this opportunity to gently remind everyone of the importance of adhering to our uniform policy. While it's wonderful to see our students expressing themselves, it's essential that their attire aligns with our school's guidelines. This means no brightly coloured jackets or jumpers, as outlined in our uniform policy. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated as it helps maintain a sense of unity and belonging among our students.
Additionally, I want to stress the importance of wearing wide-brimmed hats during outdoor activities. These hats not only protect our students from the sun's harmful rays but also form an integral part of our school uniform. If you need to purchase a school hat, you can do this at both the Junior Campus and Middle Campus offices.
On a celebratory note, I am thrilled to congratulate our talented Mabel Mob dancers for their outstanding performance at the Department of Education International Education Conference held at the Brisbane Convention Centre. Their dedication, hard work, and passion for dance were truly commendable, and they represented themselves, their families, our school and their culture with pride. Well done to all involved!
As always, thank you for your ongoing support, collaboration, and commitment to our school community. Together, we can continue to provide our students with a nurturing environment where they can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
Kind regards,
Masina Taule’alo
Principal
Junior Campus Deputy Principal
Junior Campus Leaders
At the beginning of this term, Year 3 and 4 students were given the opportunity to apply for the position of Junior Student Leader. There was an astounding response from our students, with 42 applicants taking the time to outline their leadership qualities! From here, Miss McGill and I had the very difficult task of deciding which of these students would fill the 12 leadership roles. Eventually we made our final decisions and our new student leaders were announced at our Junior Campus Parade on Tuesday afternoon. We are so excited to begin working with these amazing young people, developing their leadership skills and making Mabel Park State School and even better place to be.
Congratulations to our 2024 Junior School Leaders: Xahvier, Shabaz, Elizabeth, Grace, Mary, Kerri, Imogen, Esther, Kyanne, Pearl, Jackson and Scarlett.
Alexis Bell
Teaching and Learning at Mabel
How can you support your child’s learning at home?
Today I am sharing some general ways that you can support your child’s learning.
- Keep up-to-date – follow the school’s social media; attend parade and other event.
- Accept offers for parent/teacher interviews.
- Monitor screen time – maintain ground rules and boundaries to ensure consistency.
- Monitor sleep – lack of sleep impacts learning at school.
- Support good relationships – particularly the relationship between student and teacher.
- Access local services – support services are there to help you; visit the local library.
- Believe in your child’s potential – praise your child for their effort and celebrate success even the smallest ones.
Maree Martin
Head of Department Curriculum
No school can work well for children if parents and teachers do not act in partnership on behalf of the children's best interests.
Dorothy H Cohen
Student Services at Mabel
PLEASE QUIT using "hit back" as a first response with your children.
There are a lot more problems and headaches when we don't take the time to figure out what started the striking and fighting. Usually, one or two students will say something or do something to agitate the other students. Unable to manage their feelings, the outraged child will respond aggressively and eventually strike first. These physical encounters can cause rifts in relationships with students, teachers, and administrators, which can lead to social marginalisation and challenges in the classroom. Physical interactions typically result in a suspension, which is ineffective for everyone as students are away from school and miss time that could be spent learning.
Successfully resolving conflicts amicably is an essential life skill. Students who resort to violence miss out on opportunities to develop these abilities and run the risk of perpetuating a cycle of aggression. Fighting could result in serious injury for both parties. Small arguments have the capacity to quickly get out of hand and hurt the other person or themselves.
If students are reporting that they are experiencing physical difficulties on the playground, it's time to schedule a meeting with the department heads or the classroom teacher. This will assist in identifying the root of the issue and establishing a solution that is secure and cooperative for all parties. Giving pupils the go-ahead to fight back is not a better approach than this one.
Teresa Radicke, Sarah Williamson and Karen Gardyne
Head of Department Student Services
Are your contact details up to date?
In the event of an emergency or accident, the school MUST be able to contact you immediately by telephone, so we need to have the most up-to-date information on our system.
Please keep us updated with any new home address, telephone number and email addresses.