Mudgeeraba Special School students participated in a walk for the Annual Day for Daniel, Australia’s largest child safety awareness and education day. Students across the campus have been viewing key messages in association with ‘keeping kids safe’ which aligns with the Health and Physical Education curriculum. Students and staff wore red and walked one of three routes in their class groups. They completed a 'letter hunt' on their walk collecting the letters to spell out the word safe and discussed posters they saw along the track with information supporting students to Recognise, React and Report when they feel unsafe. Students finished the event with a disco in the assembly area to celebrate their efforts. 

Students at Mudgeeraba Special School were invited by Karen Andrews MP to participate in her annual Christmas Drawing Competition. Each year Karen is amazed by the effort and creativity placed into their artwork. The winning design from entrants across the region will be featured on the front of Karen's Christmas card which will be distributed to over 70,000 households. We wish our students the best of luck with some entries shown in the image gallery below. 

During week 5 our students will undertake explicit and incidental teaching to encourage them to ask for help and learn skills to help others when they are being supported.  Staff will encourage students to ask for help when engaging in a difficult activity or during personal hygiene support.

Parents and Carers you can support this learning in a home/school partnership by modelling and encouraging your young person to ask for help when they are undertaking difficult tasks at home.

Thank you to Tina Wells and JJ O'Connor for kindly donating their bike to the school.  

Our students love accessing the bikes as part of the HPE program.  It helps them to develop their gross motor skills such as bilateral co-ordination, balance and muscular strength.  They also learn about road and traffic safety, and develop their social and emotional skills while having a lot of fun!

The Passion of the Plover

I like fishing. I like to get out in the great outdoors, and test myself against nature. However, no amount of equipment could’ve prepared me for what happened one morning as I happily strolled towards my favorite fishing bank. With both hands full, carrying rods and a bucket, my defensive techniques must’ve looked comical to anyone who was watching on. I was no match for the Passion of the Plover, that day.

A grassy park, between the carpark and the water, was all that needed to be crossed to begin my day’s fishing. I’d walked the path many a time. But this morning, an angry plover, full of passion for protecting its nest, decided that I would not pass. “Not on my watch”, said the plover!

At first, I didn’t notice the bird stalking me, until I heard what sounded like a handful of ‘bird’ curse words, come from a little plover, that had its neck bent, and its stalking shoes on. And when it flew at me with all of its passionate parenthood, squawking as it flew, I didn’t think to put down my equipment, and do whatever it is you’re supposed to do when you’re attacked by a bird. They didn’t cover this in the “Weekend Warrior Fisherman, Plover Self-Defense Handbook”, so I was completely overpowered, and without a go-to move of any sort! The little bird caught me totally off-guard, and I fell victim to the little plugger.

Have you ever faced such a passionate plover before?

So there I was, waving my heavy fishing bucket in one direction, and my fishing rods in the other (if you’ve ever tried holding 3 fishing rods in the one hand, you’ll know something about how difficult that can actually be). And, all 3 rods, while still in my hand, skewed off at both ends, leaving me looking as though I was holding an over-sized letter, “X”! As the plover kept up its attack, I was beginning to look nothing like Bruce Lee, from one of his famous martial art scenes, but more like Jackie Chan’s monkey (not that there’s anything wrong with Jackie Chan’s monkey!). I waved my buckets this direction, and my letter X, in that direction. I’m sure I even heard the plover start laughing at me at one stage!

Thinking back on my humiliating defeat that day, at the hands of a passionate plover, I couldn’t help thinking about how it drew some interesting parallels in life. The plover wasn’t at fault, all it was doing was protecting its nest. Nothing wrong with that. But boy, was it passionate about what it was doing. And me? If I didn’t admit that I was a little taken aback, even scared, I’d be lying. The plover did what it could to defend its young ones, and it succeeded in making me take a backward step (with clown-like action accessories thrown in for free).

In ancient Greece, people were remembered not by what they had achieved, or even by who they were, but by the single question, “Did they have passion?” Success appeared to be measured by the size of the person’s passion, and not by the size of the mountain that moved as a result. How interesting!

May I encourage you this week, to bring forth similar passion. Like the plover, it may be for your family, or it may be for a noble pursuit, or it may be for something incredibly private, but no less significant. It could be at work, or it could be at play. It might even be just for you. Either way, the passion of the plover, scared me, and got me stepping back and retreating. It beat me that day. Who knows what will retreat or surrender, if we faced life with the same kind of passion. Maybe only just for the satisfaction of dignity, or self-esteem. But may I encourage you, squawk if you have to, fly up and down at the obstruction, or stomp menacingly in the direction of the opposition. Who knows, you may in fact move mountains, or in this case, protect something or someone, well-worth our love and affection.

Or in my case, Jackie Chan’s monkey!

We encourage you to keep up to date through the NDIS websites.

https://everyaustraliancounts.com.au/

https://www.ndis.gov.au/participants/independent-assessments/independent-assessment-process

https://www.ndis.gov.au/community/have-your-say/interventions-children-autism-spectrum?fbclid=IwAR3-yzR5VE-YUVL99n2RM2NXynqvx4uc5SWv-tjqogxtvuxYt_ArAUNeXDk

Stop the Spread of COVID-19

Maintaining the required hygiene and physical distancing measures in place in our school. These are our most effective ways to stop the spread of COVID-19. 

Any person who is sick (staff, student or parent) should stay home and if they have any COVID-19 symptoms, no matter how mild, get tested.

Symptoms of COVID-19 can include: 

• Fever
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
• Loss of taste or smell
• Tiredness and muscle aches
• Vomiting and/or diarrhoea
• Shortness of breath

If students or staff present at school as unwell we will follow up and request an imediate early departure until a medical clearance is provided and confirmation that the person is well.

We need to ensure we stay home if recurring flu like symptoms present to decrease the spread of influenza.

Further information about COVID-19 testing is available via the link below:

https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/stay-informed/testing-and-feverclinics

If you have any questions, please call your doctor or call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) in these continuing concerning times.

• Student attendance 8.30 am till 2.45 pm.
• Phone the office and request the classroom. Please always be mindful of students' learning and teachers teaching times.
• If you are late to start the school day please attend the School Office and staff will assist with contacting your class.
• Utilise the students' Communication Diary and Seesaw.
• Request face to face meetings through your class teacher before, after school or in their noncontact time.

Via Social Media:

Did you know... Mudgeeraba Special School have our own departmental approved Instagram page? Stay up to date with the latest in the classroom, school and community through Facebook and our newest addition to the Mudgeeraba Special social media family, our Instagram account. Follow us today https://www.instagram.com/mudgeerabaspecial/ and tag us @mudgeerabaspecial