Dear Mudgeeraba Special School Families,

We are now half way through term 3, so the year just seems to be disappearing very quickly. As is always the case at Mudgee, our school has been a very busy place to work and learn in recent times. 

Our Mudgee Mini Olympics was a huge success. I would like to thank our dedicated and supportive school staff for all of their efforts in making this day enjoyable for everyone in our school community.  It was a fun day and it is always great to have families attend, the mascot and parent races in particular were quite exciting. Congratulations to the Magpies for their win.

Many thanks to those families and caregivers who have taken the time to provide feedback on how our school is travelling as part of the annual School Opinion Survey process. It isn’t too late to provide input into how Mudgee is performing and looking for ways to improve, as it closes tonight. You can have your say by clicking on the link that was emailed to selected parents earlier this term.

All the students and staff are currently very busy getting ready for ‘Mudgee-Wood’. I am very excited about my first Mudgee concert and I hope to see as many families and students as possible. Tickets can be purchased at the front office and cost $10 each.

Communication

I would like to remind parents about timeframes for responses to enquires and questions about their child/ren.  While teachers are on class during the day and on duties during break times, they are unable to attend to SeeSaw messages and emails.  Staff will respond to your questions and queries generally within a 48hour period. For urgent matters please contact the office.

Drop off and pick up times

If you find yourself dropping your child off after 9:00 am or picking them up before 2:30 pm, we kindly ask that you please sign them in and out at the main office. This simple step helps us ensure the safety and security of all students within our school community.

Furthermore, we kindly request that parents refrain from walking through the school to collect their child during these hours. Instead, once you have signed in at the office, our staff will promptly notify your child's class and arrange for a staff member to meet you in the office.

We will be celebrating Book Week next week. The theme this year is ‘Reading is Magic’ and we have many exciting activities planned. 

Wednesday 21^st of August: Book week parade and dance in the Assembly Area at 1:30 pm

Wednesday 21^st – Friday 23^rd August: Book Fair will be held in the Trade Training Centre. Students will have the opportunity to visit the fair and fill out a wish list to take home.  Please feel welcome to come and visit the book fair throughout the week.

Warm regards,

Renée Zhu

Principal

Despite the weather, our Junior Secondary Students had a wonderful time on camp.  They challenged themselves in a range of actvitis including rockclimbing, circus skills, catapults, archery, court sports, kite building, beach games and orienteering.  Thanks to all our amazing staff for creating such wonderful opportunities for our students.

We are very pleased to have representatives from Variety, the Children's Charity, teaching financial literacy skills to our Senior students. In this program, our students are learning a range of topics such as how to protect, save and budget their money.

I think we have come to realise that most pictures and stories on social media show perfect food and perfect smiles. Everything seems so good for that person. I have to admit that sometimes when I used to spend a lot more time on social media I used to get very down thinking, ‘Wow their life is so much better than mine.’ What we seem to forget though is that picture is just a moment in that person’s day, during that person’s week. It is a highlight reel from a much bigger  life story.

The problem is, we often judge ourselves by what we see on other people’s social media. I remember that my family and I were on a holiday down at Coffs Harbour, I took some beautiful pictures of the beach near our motel and the pool that my kids were enjoying swimming in. I posted them on social media and got all these amazing comments like, ‘Wow you are having an incredible time,’ or ‘Looks like a beautiful place.’  One comment read, ‘I am so jealous I wish I was with you, you guys are having such a great time.’ What no one realised though, was at a sporting event that my family and I had attended just days before we went away I had caught a terrible case of gastro. In fact for three of the four days that we spent on that trip in Coffs Harbour, I had been in the bathroom. You see, the pictures were pretty and perhaps some of the best pictures I had taken for a long time but they didn't tell the full story. The reality is that by judging ourselves by what we see on other people’s social media we compare ourselves to an unrealistic and at times unattainable picture for everyday life. So instead of commenting on what you’re seeing your friends doing on social media, why not give them a call and talk to them and see how they’re really going.  Endeavour to create real community, share your struggles and joys together; have authentic relationships not ones that we judge by the pictures we see on Facebook or Instagram. These are the types of relationships that help tough times lessen.

?⭐️ P&C school concert raffle 2024⭐️?
Great prizes on offer with the first prize including a 2 night stay at The Osprey Apartments - Mooloolaba.  Second prize includes a brand new iPad 9th Generation.  Total prize pool valued at $2,967!  Please support our P&C as we raise money for our wonderful school. 

You can purchase tickets through the link below.  
https://rafflelink.com.au/msssconcert2024
Raffle will be drawn on Monday 2nd September 2024.