IMPORTANT DATES

MARCH

Wednesday 20th Athletics Standards

Thursday 28th Athletics Sports Horsham

End Term 1, 2.30pm

APRIL

Monday 15th School Resumes P-12 Assembly 9.00am

Tuesday 23rd Parent Teacher Interviews (secondary) Primary

interviews vary according to year level.

Term 1 30th Jan – 28th March

Term 2 15th April – 28th June

Term 3 15th July – 20th September

Term 4 7th October – 20th December

Remember: You can access the newsletter online at www.murtoasc.vic.gov.au.

Parenting article: Enjoy reading this week’s Parenting Article, attached to this newsletter. End of Term Time has flown past swiftly this term and we have less than 2 weeks to go. Interim reports for secondary students will be given to students next week. It is very timely to have a chat to your children to reflect with them on how things are going at school – academically, socially and emotionally. Parent –teacher interviews for secondary students will be held next term and I would encourage all parents to make appointments with their child’s teachers. Primary interviews are being held at various times however please feel free to communicate with the classroom teacher using the communication book, or make an appointment to talk with them when convenient. It is also the time when students should reflect on how things are going and think about any changes they made need to make to their work and study habits. Generally students have settled into their familiar routines very well. Our Year 7s and Preps have done a great job getting to know their new school and new friends – well done! Athletics standards and sports are being held this week and next week for secondaries. I would encourage all students to attend. Students who are unable to compete still need to be at school to participate in other ways such as helping staff. These sports days really help to set the tone of the school and are occasions for all year levels to mingle and support each other. There is always a terrific vibe and lots of support and encouragement given and shown.

18th March 2013 No. 8

What’s been happening in the Middle School Food & Technology Elective? We have been exploring French cuisine this past fortnight: crepes, choux puffs and meringues

SPORT 2013

Term 1

Wednesday March 20 P 1-4 Athletic Standards

Thursday March 28 All Day Athletic Sports (Horsham)

(Last day of term)

Term 2

Friday May 17 P 5-6 School Cross Country

Thursday May 30 All Day Black Ranges Cross Country (Murtoa)

Wednesday June 19 All Day Region Cross Country (Dimboola)

Term 3

Monday October 7 All Day Black Ranges Athletics (Ararat)

(First day of term 4)

HOUSE T-SHIRTS Students are encouraged to purchase a t-shirt in their house colours from the office for $10. They are to be worn for any house competition such as swimming standards, swimming sports, athletics standards, athletics sports & cross country. Students may decorate them if they choose.

HOUSE COLOURS COMPETITION Every day for Term 1 students are encouraged to dress their school uniform up with some colour (House colours ONLY). Students may wish to tie a coloured ribbon in their hair for their House, wear a bright coloured watch, wear a broad brimmed hat in the yard in their House colour, or wear some fun coloured sunglasses or headbands/armbands in either bright orange, green or purple. Each day a teacher on morning yard duty will issue a raffle ticket to every student who comes to school in uniform but shows some colour in support of their House. Every Monday at General Assembly, the raffle tickets will be drawn and five lucky students will each win a voucher to use at the canteen. This will continue for the whole of Term 1.

Instrumental Music Students

Lessons this term with Ms McErlain – Thursday 21st

March (normal lesson day) & Monday 25th

March (not Athletics Day).

_______________________________________________________________________________

Basketball

Please return basketball singlets to Marie by the end of term (Thursday 28th

March)

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Network Video & Music

The following instruments that we have started to teach are: piano, violin, guitar, drums & bass.

Lessons will be held during school days (no weekends, public holidays or school holidays. For further information contact

5382 3139 or Department Manager Nick Walter on 0457 573 849

Wear

your house

colours!

athletics standards Wednesday 20th March, 2013

Important information for all students &

parents

Standards on Wednesday March 20th, Periods 1-4.

HATS! All students must be wearing a hat to do the standards. Make sure your hat has your name in it as

you may take it off when you are competing. WEAR YOUR OWN SUNSCREEN as well and bring a drink

bottle for WATER ONLY.

If you have a spare broad brimmed hat at home, bring it along to lend to a friend if they forget. Students

who don’t have a hat will be given old hats to wear from staff for the day. STUDENTS MUST BE WEARING A

HAT FOR STANDARDS.

Students can come to school in sport uniform only (not casual) and must get changed into proper school

uniform at lunch time after standards have finished. Students, who don’t have sport clothes, may wear

other shorts and t-shirt but must bring a note explaining this from a parent/guardian. Students may wear

their House t-shirt (if they have purchased one) or dress in house colours.

Students will record the first score in each event. If there is time, then students may have a second or third

attempt to better their score.

Using the standards score sheet, each score will be ranked according to the specific scores for each age

group.

TRACK EVENTS – participation = 1 point better the standard time = 3 points

FIELD EVENTS – participation = 1 point 3 levels of achievement worth 4, 3 & 2 points

Students will have 30 minutes at each event. Groups must keep your own time. DO NOT move on early to

the next event, use your spare time to enter your scores, have 2nd & 3rd attempts and slot best students into

the house team sheet. Any time left at the end of the session would be best used for having a drink and

resting before the next event.

There will be 7 x 30min sessions for each event.

Event 1 – 9.00-9.30am Event 4 – 11.00 – 11.30am

Event 2 – 9.30-10.00am Event 5 - 11.30am-12.00pm

Event 3 – 10.00-10.30am Event 6 - 12.00-12.30pm

RECESS - 10.30-11.00am Event 7 - 12.30-12.45pm

Group at event 8 responsible for pack up of equipment

House Teams for the Athletics Carnival Program needs to be finalised and given to Joanne Baker by Friday

22nd March.

Students cannot participate in the same event for more than one age group.

Students can participate in a maximum of 6 individual events plus a relay.

Age Champions will be calculated based on performance in 6 events.

House Captains are strongly encouraged to ensure that all students are entered into at least one event.

Students who know they are not going to the Athletics Sports must send a note explaining their pending

absence. ALL STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND. It is a normal school day.

HOUSE ATHLETICS SPORTS 9.30am-1.30pm Thursday 28th March, 2013

DUDLEY CORNELL PARK, HORSHAM

Getting There

Students from Murtoa, Rupanyup, Minyip and Jung will be travelling by school buses to the venue (formerly Horsham North Park). The school will be covering the cost of transporting students to Horsham for the day and it is expected that all students will be attending the sports.

ALL STUDENTS MUST RETURN A CONSENT FORM FOR THE HOUSE ATHLETICS SPORTS to the box outside the General Office

Students that require transport to the venue will travel to school as normal (students must be at Murtoa College by 8.30am), and then be transported by school bus to Dudley Cornell Oval. At the conclusion of the sports the buses will return to school prior to the end of the school day which is 2.30pm due to being the last day of term.

STUDENTS REQUIRING THE BUS TO HORSHAM MUST RETURN A BUS NOTE WITH THEIR CONSENT FORM TO THE BOX AT THE GENERAL OFFICE.

Students who live in Horsham will not need to come to school first; they will need to find their own transport directly to the Dudley Cornell Oval at the start of the school day arriving no later than 9.15am. Horsham students will be dismissed from the oval at the conclusion. Clothing All students are to wear their sports uniform – students are encouraged to dress up in House colours. Students should also be aware of the weather conditions on the day and dress appropriately – hats, sunscreen, waterproof jacket and change of clothes may all be relevant. Food Marie Davis (School Canteen Manager) will be operating a canteen at the venue. There will also be a BBQ to fund raise for the SRC. Students may bring their own food and water as well as money to purchase items. Attendance All students are expected to attend the Athletics Carnival. Rolls will be marked and student participation in this event will be viewed favourably in future sporting team selection and school activities. Parents Having the Athletics Sports in Horsham provides a great opportunity for Horsham parents to come to see their students participate. Parents would be advised to bring a chair as seating is limited. Any parent able to help on the day would be greatly appreciated by contacting Joanne Baker (Sport Coordinator) at school.

If there have been any recent changes in your student’s medical information could you please contact the office to make sure the updated information is recorded prior to the Athletics Sports. If you have any concerns or queries about the above information please contact Joanne Baker at school on 03 5385 2381.

_______________________________________________________________________________ Athletics Carnival Parental Assistance Parents, family and friends are encouraged to attend to support the day. Volunteers are also welcome to assist with events. Jobs such as raking the long and triple jump pits and measuring jumps and throws are always in need of filling. If you can help during any of the times listed below could you please return this slip to Joanne Baker asap. I, ____________________________________ am able to assist with the athletics carnival during the following time/s (please circle a suitable time) 9.30 – 10.30 10.30 - 11.30 11.30 – 12.30 12.30 – 1.30 __________________________________________________________________________________

Greater Western Swimming – Friday 15th March Warrnambool

A big congratulations to all our students that competed in the Greater Western swimming carnival on Friday. It is testament to the swimming talent our students have that they made it to this level of competition. Well done to the following competitors and their achievements!

Student Race Result Maddi Morgan U12-13 Butterfly 2nd

Lily Williams U15 Freestyle 3rd

U15 Backstroke 4th

U15 Butterfly 4th

Maddy McQueen U16 Butterfly 5th

Max Koschmann Connor Marsh Corey Morgan Adam Schache

U16 Boys 50m Freestyle 3rd

Mr. Argall would also like to acknowledge the families that travelled to ensure that their children could compete at this level. It is a big commitment and we thank you for your help.

Congratulations!

Maddi Morgan after her tremendous silver placing!

Gutsy effort! Maddy McQueen after her 5th place – a massive achievement considering she was sick all week!

Bronze Boys!

A fantastic effort by the U16 Boys relay team – 3rd place! Congratulations Max, Adam, Connor and Corey.

True Talent!

Well done to Lily Williams on all her swimming achievements this year!

3rd in Freestyle

4th in Butterfly and Backstroke

Volleyball top orders

This year, Volleyball top orders are being taken early to ensure prompt

delivery.

If your child is wishing to compete in Volleyball at Murtoa College they must

order a top.

The tops are not just for Volleyball, but can be used in PE classes, Sport days

and excursions. Made from breathable nylon, they are light and look

fantastic!

Tops will be $45 and include the surname on the back. Please see Mr. Argall,

Mr. Bray or any of the students involved in the Volleyball Program for sizes.

Tear off slip below and return with $45 to the office

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Name: ____________________________________________ Year Level:

___________________

1st Preference Number _______________ 2nd Preference Number:

__________________

Paid (Office use) Yes No

Please note: Sizes will be confirmed for your child at school by Mr. Argall or

Mr. Bray

Funky Hair Friday

Last Friday students at Murtoa College participated in Funky Hair Friday, which is a fundraiser for the Leukemia

Foundation. Students came to school with the biggest, curliest, funkiest and most colourful hairdos they could think

of.

The primary students were amazing with many different styles both elegant and tall. The secondary students went for

the hair spray and the tease with some of the biggest hair seen since the 80s.

At lunch there was a parade of hairdos and some prizes went out to students who had gone above and beyond. But

there simply weren't enough prizes to go around; there were so many fantastic styles.

Thank you to all staff and students who participated and to the SRC for running the day. We raised over $220 for this

worthwhile cause.

MMFNC Football Information Under 17's Training in Murtoa this week. Practice match this Saturday @ Murtoa, will be confirmed at training. Mark Schache 0429 433 688 markschache@bigpond.com – U17 Team Manager Under 14's Wayne Robbins has taken on the coaching role, training will commence this Thursday 5pm @ Murtoa. Auskick/U 12’s We are pleased to announce Jason ‘Gibba’ Keel and Andrew ‘Moon’ Coutts will be training the Auskick/U12’s this season. Training to be Thursday nights 5pm at Murtoa football oval. Starting date yet to be finalized, we will keep you informed. Registrations for Auskick are to be subscribed and PAID ONLINE this year; there are no paper registration forms. For those that pay by Monday 15th April, they will get access to four free tickets (i.e. two adult and two children) to a selected 2013 Toyota AFL Premiership Season match. Parents will be required to help out with training on Thursday nights. Any questions please contact: Tim Petering 0428 852 322 timncar@bigpond.com – Auskick Team Manager

JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS

Following school holidays please check your child’s hair for lice and treat. Parents and Friends There will be a P&F meeting this Wednesday 20th March, in the Prep room at 3.30pm. Main agenda items are the Easter raffle and catering. Egg Raffle Each family should have received their tickets last Friday. Thank-you to the families that have donated eggs for the raffle. Please remember Tickets need to be back at school by Tuesday 26th March. Little Lizards News The Murtoa College Little Lizards have had a busy and exciting week. Major highlights included Integrated Studies where students gained inside experiences of life growing up in Japan and Argentina and Funky Friday – with Wacky Hairstyles the order of the day as students contributed to fundraising and awareness of Leukaemia. We thank Satomi and Andrea, Takumi Ames’ and Elijah Berger’s mums for their amazing efforts in the class presentations, the students gained so much knowledge about language and culture from both Japan and Argentina. This week Preps will be focusing on the letters and sounds of o, u and l this week and continuing their mathematical understandings of the numbers 0 -10. Grade 1 and 2 are focusing on recounts, proper nouns and number patterns, order and greater than and less than. We would like parents to assist in the mornings between 9 – 10 am with our reading program and to work with Mrs Noonan to run The Perceptual Motor Program (an active gross motor skills and literacy session). Students love working with parents and your efforts would be greatly appreciated, if you are available please let one of us know either personally or through your child’s Communication Book. 3-4 Although this week was shortened by our Public Holiday, the children did really well with the different teachers that have taught them throughout the week. The grade had the privilege of both Mr Logan and Mrs Coutts teaching them prior to my return to the class on Thursday. The class has shown its ability to adapt and continue with their learning despite the changes. This week’s Math focus has been on subtraction and writing numbers into words. For English we have continued to focus on our persuasive writing using an elimination draw to problem solve reasons behind an opinion. We had great fun learning and playing two international games called Takraw (Thailand) and Tangrams (China) in our integrated studies sessions. Mr Collins.

5-6 This was a short week and I was absent as well however, some great learning is happening in 5-6 class. Math- students are getting better at their tables and have surprised themselves with how well they are doing with their long multiplication. Lily Horvat was very pleased with herself this week because she got all but two long multiplications right. She was able to tell me where she went wrong with these two sums. This is excellent learning when a student can verbalize where they went wrong and what they need to do to continue to improve. When this happens you know that students are thinking about how they are learning. This is what teachers strive for, for students to reflect and discuss this with you and together you share reflection and feedback, which are two very powerful learning tools. Many students are doing this now. English- most students have finished their Ghost stories. Over the past few weeks students have been learning to use emotive and descriptive language when writing a narrative. We have concentrated on self-correcting and proof reading strategies. Most importantly, using paragraphs effectively and punctuation properly. I have included a couple of the Ghost stories for you to read and we will be making these stories into a class book. The students will design a front and back cover and they will be judged by the other classes. They have completed spelling activities. There has been a significant improvement in spelling and dictation. Weekly awards went to Toshi Ames for fantastic Ghost story, Aiden Hart, Logan Petering and Hannah Whyte for a wonderful Ghost story. Thank you to the Tan, Emmy and Caleb for going into Preps and helping Mrs. Noonan with a math lesson. Our Year 6 School Captains and SRC are being encouraged to show initiative and responsible leadership to feel connected with others. This means cooperative and collaborative learning, peer support, and mutual respect. Emmy Dingwall and Chloe Wilson really showed what being a great leader is about, by showing initiative and helping the early years’ teachers, collecting the money for Crazy Hair Day (raised $73.00) and helped Mrs. Noonan with the ice-creams. Well done to Caleb Hatcher, for solving the weekly maths problem on the board. It has been a difficult Term 1 with student learning. Some would prefer to put the minimum effort in. Some students have had difficulty coming to terms with how to learn. Listening is a huge issue with some students only hearing what they want. It takes time to develop good learning habits and break old ones. They all have begun showing significant improvement. Over the past three weeks I have been very pleased with the effort they have put in. I gave all students a special award this week for the great attitude to learning they are showing in class. I have discussed homework many times and I sent a note home in the students’ diaries. Home work is not meant to

March 19 Learning by Doing: at Murtoa College

March 22 Friday

Responsible Pet Education

be a chore, it is 15-20 minutes a night. In years 5-6 it is crucial that students develop good work habits. If the homework is too difficult or your child cannot do it:

6 or 8 sentences from their spelling list

6 dictionary meanings using their spelling list or new words

Write out 6x, 7x, 4x, tables

Read a chapter per night of their book

I am more than happy to sit with your child daily for the first half of lunch and they can complete their homework at school. Once this term I sent a graph book home for students to read the questions and fill in the graph, I told the students what to do, I also told them if they can’t do this to bring it to me and we will do it in class. I also wrote this in the newsletter. Sometimes I will send math homework home that we have been doing in class for them to practice. Homework is school policy. Please encourage your child to do their homework. Thank you to the parents who came for an interview to discuss their child’s assessment and teaching program. At this time students have only been working with the Author Study grid as this is directly related to the reading we do in Period 5. Every parent was given an academic handbook to show you what we are teaching and what the expectation is of Years 5-6. I sent this booklet home with students whose parents were not able to come for an interview. Please make an appointment to see me if you have concerns. Marilyn Ghost Train beginning by Toshi A long time ago there was a story about a haunted train. In the story the train is filled with hundreds of scary ghosts. One day a boy named Frank saw the train out of his bedroom window. Frank got out of his warm bed and walked down creaky stairs into his dark cold lounge room. Opening his door as quietly as he could he went outside into the cold dark night. There it was the ghost train out of his nightmares. There it was the ghost train out of his nightmares. In his mind he said it is impossible. About ten scary looking ghosts came up to Frank and said “this boy will make a great ghost”.

The Haunted House I went for a ride; it was getting dark and creepy. I was starting to get lost and scared. A dark storm was brewing. I decided to take shelter at the old house next to the lake. No one has lived there for 14 years.

GHOST STORY

I am lost. Night is falling. I found an old house and I decided to shelter there. The house is old it is black and brown. I go in and the door creaks loudly. Inside the floor is dusty and the fireplace is full of black ash. I walk through a door and I walk into a kitchen the oven is old and there is a shelf. I open the shelf and there is no food inside. I shut the door and walk into another room it has a bed and a desk it looks like it is going to fall apart.

Our Crazy Hair Day on Friday

We thank Satomi and Andrea, Takumi Ames and Elijah Berger’s mum’s for their amazing efforts in the class presentations.