This week's featured image is Yoda on a surfboard! Aria from Year 4 had a great time creating her awesome hairstyle for Primary's Crazy Hair Day.

Please remember that driving while using your phone held in your hand is illegal. Keep our students, parents, teachers, staff and yourself safe and only use your mobile phone if you have a hands-free kit installed in your vehicle.  

This means you can't:

• Hold the phone next to or near your ear with your hand
• Write, send or read a text message
• Turn your phone on or off
• Operate any other function on your phone.

For further information and guidelines please click here

Thank you for taking everyone's safety seriously. 

We'd like to remind parents that school policy links are available via the Parent Lounge portal, under the School Links menu. The Student Absence Policy identifies the legislated obligations of parents to ensure their child/ren is attending school and the College’s response to absenteeism.

The policy details the following:

• relevant legislation
• definition of compulsory school age
• compulsory participation phase
• exemption definitions
• family holidays during term time
• how TMC manages absenteeism

We encourage you to review this policy to gain an understanding of your responsibilities.

Ms Vanessa Simpson

Can you work out this one?

If it takes six florist assistants three hours to pack 12 boxes of flowers, how fast can 16 assistants pack 16 boxes? 

To have a go – click here

Mrs Helen Garner

A massive thank you for your fundraising efforts so far, we have now raised over $5000 as a school! There are just 3 days left, last chance to fundraise! 

Thank you to those families and students who have registered and already begun fundraising as part of the 'Readathon' challenge. The aim is to read as many books as possible and raise money to help families affected by Multiple Sclerosis. We have already had to revise our school target TWICE due to our excellent fundraising. All Primary students have been informed of this very worthy cause and encouraged to register, record the books they've read (including writing book reviews) and fundraise. To do so, they need to be registered by a parent or family member if you have not already done so. The challenge started on Saturday (1st August) and will run the duration of the month. Please register your child for the challenge using the link below (under the school's name and your child/ren's year level) and sponsor them what you can. We have also shared the link on the school Facebook page:

https://www.msreadathon.org.au/register-2020 

There will be prizes awarded for class & student reading and fundraising efforts. Just 3 days to go! Thank you in advance for your continued support. 

Mr Sean Golden

Elevate Education, our Secondary School study skills partner, are once again running an online event to show parents and carers how to help students achieve the study skills they need to achieve their best.

Event Title: Elevate Education – Smart Work

Date: Tuesday 1st September 

Time: 6pm AEST 

Duration: 1 hour

Cost: Free 

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT

The angle we take on any situation can be changed for the better. See at how a bush could look so different just by a tilt of the head.

The greatness of a tree is never fully appreciated unless we look up and take in the whole being. Very much like the greatness within ourselves. We cannot see our greatness until we look within and observe our whole being.

Mr Roshan Sabapathy

We seem to have an abundence of lost property accumulating.  Please take time this weekend to do a little audit of your children's uniforms to see if everything is present and correct.  If you think you may be missing an item of clothing please contact our office and we'll do our best to reunite the uniform with the student.  Thank you! 

Emma Anderson from Year 6 has been awarded third place in the 2020 Literary Competition run by The English Teachers Association of QLD Inc and the Independent Education Union of Australia. Emma's short story The Sky Train (click to read the story) caught the eye of the judges and it is a great read! Mr Stevens sat down with the author for an interview:

Mr Stevens - "Well, congratulations on winning third place! Can you tell everyone what your story is about?"

Emma - "The Sky Train is told from the perspective of a girl who finds herself in what appears to be an abandoned train station. Then a train pulls up and the strange story starts. In the story, the reader learns that everything is not as it appears to be."

Mr Stevens - "What age did you write this story for?"

Emma - "Everyone from 10 years old to adult will enjoy the story."

Mr Stevens - "Where did the idea for the story come from?"

Emma - "Mrs Horn showed us some stimulus pictures in short story writing time in Year 6. One was of an old train at night, surrounded by smoke. It inspired the thought of a train flying through clouds, which led to the overall storyline which the reader discovers."

Mr Stevens - "What do you like about writing?"

Emma - "I like to tell stories by putting words together - my own words make it mine! I can use past experiences sometimes, too."

Mr Stevens - "Where to next with your creative writing then?"

Emma - "I want to continue writing short stories that leave the reader wondering."

**

This term, the SRC have organised a Free Dress Day on the last day of term, Friday September the 18th. Students are encouraged to wear blue to raise funds for Beyond Blue. Beyond Blue provides information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, whatever their age and wherever they live.

Year 10 have been working hard on their Science assessment this term. This term, students are studying Chemistry, with a focus on chemical reactions. Students have modified and conducted an experiment to investigate reaction rates, building vital skills in risk management and problem-solving. The level of maturity and team-work displayed by Year 10 during this task has been wonderful to see.

Ms Liz Black

Students in Year 12 have been busily preparing for their external exams, with our Modern History students embarking on a 'museum walk' this week to uncover the truth of the My Lai Massacre. Although many excursions have been disrupted due to COVID, our Secondary teachers have been planning dynamic lessons to make learning engaging and hands-on for our students. Year 12s are pictured here exploring primary sources on the My Lai Massacre, as preparation for their exam in Term 4 on the Vietnam War. Students have been working incredibly hard to study and revise and are to be commended for their dedication to their studies. 

Ms Emily McCredden

Year 12 Biology students are on the home stretch! Our seniors have spent some time outside this past week, taking advantage of our grounds to build evolutionary timelines, measure transects, calculate species diversity and identify some of the beautiful plants we have here in our TMC grounds.

Ms Liz Black

To make an online booking for Vacaction care please visit Vacation Care

The September school holidays are not far away!  If you’re looking for something fun for your child to do these school holidays, TMC Early Learning Centre's Vacation Care is just the ticket!

All vacation care bookings are to be finalised one week prior to the commencement of the Vacation Care holiday program. To avoid disappointment we do recommend booking in before this time. Any cancellations will require a minimum of 48 hours notice, otherwise full charges apply.

Congratulations to the Primary SRC for organising a successful Crazy Hair Day in support of the Cancer Council. In total, we raised $308 and the ELC raised $83, meaning that our students can donate $391 to this worthy cause. The SRC had set a goal of $200, so they nearly doubled this total in the end.

The students in Prep have been learning all about materials and to further this learning, we had a wonderful visit from Micah's dad to teach us all about concrete. We learnt that concrete is predominately made up of rocks, sand and limestone. Once the concrete is mixed it needs to be placed, compacted and cured. We even had the opportunity to create our own plates of concrete and decorate them with our initials and items from around the yard. We will take our plates home as a beautiful addition to our gardens at home.

Ms Tahnee Brown

This week, our two Opti-MINDS teams recorded their performances and submitted them to the Opti-Administration for judging this weekend. They managed to remember their lines, make quick costume changes, and entertain audiences with lots of laughs, all within the space of ten minutes! We are so proud of the manner in which the students worked together to produce clever and creative responses to challenging scenarios.  

Our talented participants had the following to say about the experience: 

“Opti-MINDS has been a great experience for me and my whole team. It’s taught me to deal with things like stage fright. I am now good at talking to people I don’t know, acting, and memorising things - all thanks to Opti-MINDS.” 

Phineas Small:

“(Opti-MINDS) This year has been so much fun and It makes me sad to see it end, but I had the time of my life!”

Emma Anderson:

“Opti-MINDS is definitely something that I will remember for the rest of my life. It has been an awesome experience and an amazing journey.” 

Addison Moorkens:

“Opti-MINDS is the best thing I’ve ever done as an actor - and I’m in a drama group!  It’s also an awesome way to make new friends.” 

Luka Haydock:

“Where do I start?  I love how Opti-MINDS brings out the best in you.  I love how much energy there is involved in it.  I also love how, no matter who you are, you will be accepted, and it’s this acceptance that helps you learn how to be the best version of yourself.” 

Scarlett Small:

Thank you to Mr and Mrs Stevens for your help with the competition, and congratulations to all students involved! You are superstars. 

Mr Daniel Horn and Mrs Deborah Horn 

We have had a fabulous couple of weeks at the ELC. The term is flying by as our Pre-Prep students start their transition visits to Prep. Last week we spent time with the Prep students enjoying a picnic with our teddy bears and exploring the Prep playground. Next week we will visit the classrooms and get familiar with the Prep classroom environment and the teachers.

Back at the ELC we have been practicing what to do if we need to evacuate the premises in case of an emergency. We have explored the Deep Blue Ocean for National Science Week and continued to work on our scarecrow for the Scarecrow Festival. Don't forget to visit our scarecrow if you find yourself on the scarecrow trail! Crazy Hair day was definitely a highlight this week as we raised money for the Daffodil Appeal, thank you to the College SRC for organising this.  

Both groups have been busy exploring scientific concepts such as heavy and light, through floating and sinking experiments and what forces power rockets to lift them off from the ground. After school care explored our universe and created their very own solar system, it was a great addition to the volcano they created a few weeks ago from paper mache. Of course the real fun was seeing it erupt in the sand pit! Our budding little scientists lead the way in planning their next exciting scientific discovery, we can't wait to see where the learning takes us next! The children's interests are incorporated in the program when we add their questions to our wonder wall, families are also invited to give feedback through their child's individual planning and learning stories through the Storypark digital platform.

Don't forget with school holidays around the corner we have an exciting Vacation Care program planned. To make an online booking for Vacation Care, please visit: please click on this link

We are currently offering Pre-Prep positions for 2021 and places are limited. Please contact the Early Learning Centre for a tour or click the link below to express your interest:

Expression of Interest  

Mrs Nikki Ashley

Coming up in Term 4, Week 2 here at TMC, students from years 3 to 6 will be starring in the highly anticipated theatre remake of the classic Wizard of Oz. The upcoming event is an excellent opportunity for the students to experience that perfect balance between excitement, jitters and the opportunity to work as a team that only a role in such a production can bring. 

This week, we spoke to Year 6 students, Ava Byrns (The Wicked Witch), Lia Erasmus (The Good Witch) and Scarlett Small (Dorothy), and asked what made them want to audition for the play. Ava stated that as a little girl, she always loved the Wizard of Oz and it was one of her favourite things to watch. She added that the wicked witch was one of the best characters and the best actor in her opinion, making her want to audition for the role. When asked, Lia said “I wanted to audition because I love acting in plays and I enjoy working with other people.” Everyone involved with the play agreed that they were very excited, however, nervous at the same time.

Some other essential components of the performance are the props, costumes and makeup that help bring the show to life. These things include the well known blue checkered dress and red shoes for Scarlett, as Dorothy, and the bright coloured pink makeup and outfit, with high heels and a crown for Lia, as The Good Witch. It is also the lengthy black dress, detailed with buttons, the traditional blue and green makeup and the unforgettable witch’s hat for Ava, who loves to be in her costume. When asked, Ms Michelle Criss, stated that the most beneficial part of acting in the Wizard of Oz play is that “Performing gives students the opportunity to practice the drama skills and elements they’ve learnt in class and to respond to live audiences’ reactions.” Additionally, Mrs Deborah Horn teaches her students that the most important part of any kind of theatre is giving children the chance to let go of their inhibitions, and embrace their character on stage, while having fun. She believes that, “Drama is all about letting yourself go so that you can be silly, funny or serious in a way that will allow you to express yourself without worrying about others’ opinions.” 

As prospective audience members, we can’t wait to see the production and continue to be blown away with the time and effort put in by this dedicated crew. We know they will make this a performance to remember. We know they will truly make all of TMC proud. 

Hannah Clements and Lily Parker

On Sunday, Ava Byrnes went to Burpengary Equestrian Centre and competed in Preliminary 1A & 1B Dressage. In 1A she received 61% in 1B she received 64% obtaining her State qualifiers for Dressage.  Well done Ava!

On the weekend, our TMC Interschool Equestrian team competed at Scots PGC College in Warwick for Combined Training & Dressage. In Dressage, Talia Criss placed 2nd and Fuschia Criss placed 3rd. Caitlyn Ward and Sienna White both placed first in their combined training rounds, and as a team, the girls placed second overall. We’re very proud of our Interschool team now obtaining all of their qualifiers for IQ States 1-4th October.

Caitlyn Ward:

• Champion – CT80cm riding Croydon Park Clickety Clack
• Champion – CT95cm riding Chardale Jett

Sienna White:

• 60cm CT senior
• 1st dressage
• 1st Jumping
• Senior Champion for her group

Ms Michelle Criss

Elsa Sandholt is a Grade 10 student with an impressive sporting record.  Elsa started playing netball two years ago and now Elsa plays games five times a week and trains twice a week. She trains with the Queensland team, however, due to her only playing for 2 years she is considered inexperienced meaning she can’t represent Queensland in netball. Yet.

Recently Elsa was selected to be a part of the Bond University Bullsharks. This team is an under 16 representative team designed to develop players towards senior representation on a state or national level. This selection is a clear sign that great things are to come in netball for Elsa. 

While she is best known at our school for her netball achievements, Elsa has been a sporting prodigy long before that, having been a gymnast two years prior to starting netball. Doing gymnastics Elsa managed to go far and even ended up representing Queensland, and then in 2018 she was the Australian National Champion. However, varying back injuries meant that Elsa had to look towards a new sport - lucky for her she seems to be talented at every sport she does!

Portia Ilaoa, Year 11 student