Mount Ommaney Special School eNewsletter

A Message from Mike Curtis - Principal

Dear Parents and Caregivers

As we conclude another lively and productive term at MOSS, I am pleased to share the exciting developments and programs that have been thriving across our school community.

Drama Program Flourishes with Open Theatre UK Model

Our drama program, inspired by the Open Theatre UK model, is thriving. We are so fortunate to have the skilled and passionate practitioners in Emma, Collette and Ainsley conducting workshops, and enriching our students' learning experiences every week. In the holidays and into next term they will also visit the UK to be immersed in the success of the program across schools and community organisations and benefit from the expertise and mentorship of Open Theatre practitioners, Richard and Mel. Additionally, they are starting to embed this practice in other schools, beginning with a visit to Mudgeeraba Special School, where it has been very well received. We are confident that our drama program will continue to go from strength to strength based on the dedicated service of these staff.

Innovative Educational Programs

Our school continues to embrace innovative educational programs. The Phonics-based Sounds Write and play pedagogies are being integrated across all classrooms, enhancing our students' literacy skills and creative problem-solving and social interaction. Our rich Health and Physical Education (HPE) program, led by Eric Smyth, is also flourishing across most sectors of the school with community partnerships to allow for diverse sporting opportunities. Additionally, individual music and percussion sessions are now imbedded in our classroom routines, fostering creativity and expression. I applaud Hub leaders for their dedication to projects around play pedagogies, literacy, and numeracy and for using the Hub model to ensure these initiatives are reflected in our classrooms.

Professional Development and Training

Building capability among our teachers and teacher aides is a priority. A/ Deputy Principal Katie has organised Monday afternoon training sessions covering a wide range of areas, including communication and AAC, Intensive Interaction, and Positive Behaviour for Learning. These sessions are instrumental in equipping our staff with the skills needed to support our diverse learners effectively.

Infrastructure Updates

On the infrastructure front, we have faced some challenges. Despite the extensive reconstruction of our pool, the humidifier that heats it has broken down. This unfortunate setback has delayed our plans to start using the pool this term. We are working hard to resolve this issue and hope to have it fixed soon. Additionally, our building project is currently on hold as we await further finance clearance due to growth, minister approval, and cultural heritage considerations. We will keep you informed as developments occur.

Senior Secondary Success

Our Senior Secondary inter-programming model continues to build and thrive. PATH-driven and tailored to the needs of each student, this model ensures clear transitions into life after school for our Year 12 students. Our dedicated staff are working tirelessly to support each student's success.

Looking Forward

As we move into the holiday period, we reflect on a successful term filled with growth and achievement. We look forward to a fun and productive Term 3, continuing to build on individual learning and development. Wishing you all a safe and enjoyable school holiday period.

Warm regards, Mike

A Message from Sandra Schuptar - HOSES - ECDP

Our little ones are definitely into the routines of the classrooms. The teaching teams are working to develop independence in following classroom schedules and fostering their children’s communication with adults and same aged peers. All the children are exposed to more formal means of communicating which includes implementing visual systems that detail classroom routines and expectations, choice making opportunities and the modelling of gestures and signing.

Each week the teaching teams share about the progress they are seeing with children’s communication skills. Well done team.

Term 2 has also been focused on disseminating information to the families regarding school options for 2025.

We have held two parent information sessions discussing what a ‘special school‘ is and who qualifies for this specialized program. We have had approximately 25 families meet with us across the two sessions. We were also joined by two deputies from special schools who answered the questions that families are needing answers to. We believe our families left these meetings understanding the value and importance of these highly specialised programs that offer individualized educational support and opportunities for all their students.

The ECDP teaching team have had regular conversations with their families to discuss the range of school options available for 2025. Making decisions about future education options for little ones is a very difficult process and these decisions take time to make.

Georgia and Casey, our Occupational Therapists have run two Parent Information Session this term that have been well attended. The first was on developing self-care skills and the second session was on anxiety and how to help your child.
The ECDP is very excited that our families are taking the opportunity to attend these parent information sessions that are offered. It is our intention to continue these sharing opportunities into term 3.

Wishing all our families are memorable and hopefully restful mid-term break. We will see you all again on Monday 8th July to begin Term 3. Warm regards, Sandra Schuptar (Head of Special Education Services).

THE CURRICULUM COMPASS - Celebrating a Rich and Diverse Term at MOSS!

As we draw Term 2 to a close, it’s time to reflect on the remarkable events and achievements that have made this semester truly special at MOSS. From honouring our history and culture to engaging our students in creative and educational activities, our school community has come together to create a vibrant and dynamic learning environment. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights of this term:

ANZAC Day Commemoration

We commenced Term 2 with a heartfelt Anzac Day service, where students, staff, and parents gathered to pay tribute to the brave men and women who have served our country. The ceremony included a moving display of student artworks and a variety of sensory activities for our students to engage in while reflecting on the importance of the day. It was a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made for our freedom and the values of courage and resilience that continue to inspire us.

National Simultaneous Storytime

In May, MOSS participated in National Simultaneous Storytime, an event that encourages a love of reading and literacy among children across Australia. This year, the chosen book, “Bower Bird Blues” by Aura Parker, was read simultaneously by thousands of children nationwide. Our students enjoyed the whimsical story, participated in fun activities, and even created their own Bower Bird art, making the event a delightful success!

NAIDOC Celebrations

June saw our school embrace the vibrant culture and rich traditions of NAIDOC Week. Through various activities, including storytelling, music, art and many sensory activities created by our amazing librarian Sandy Sirriss who ensured our students learned about the significance of NAIDOC Week and the incredible contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Our NAIDOC set-up featured many activities that fostered a deeper understanding and respect for Indigenous cultures within our school community.

Staff Professional Development

This term, dedicated staff engaged in a range of professional development activities designed to enhance their teaching skills and stay abreast of the latest educational practices. Workshops on inclusive education, ‘The Big Day In’ reading conference, and innovative teaching strategies were particularly well-received, empowering our educators to bring fresh and effective approaches to the classroom. The collaborative spirit and enthusiasm of our staff have undoubtedly enriched our students’ learning experiences.

A Heartfelt Thank You

As we wrap up a busy and rewarding term, we extend our deepest gratitude to our wonderful parents, caregivers, and staff. Your unwavering support, enthusiasm, and involvement have been instrumental in making this term a resounding success. Whether you contributed to our Anzac Day service, participated in National Simultaneous Storytime, joined in our NAIDOC celebrations, or supported our staff’s professional growth, your contributions have made a significant impact.

Looking ahead, we are excited about the opportunities and challenges that Term 3 will bring. Together, we will continue to nurture our students’ growth, celebrate our rich cultural heritage, and strive for excellence in all that we do.

Thank you for being an essential part of the MOSS community. Here’s to a well-deserved break and a bright, inspiring term ahead! Warm regards

EPO - Education Program Officer - Juliet Young

Volunteers

MOSS are currently very fortunate to have 5 volunteers currently giving their much valued time to our students. Activities that they are involved in include reading, providing additional support for classroom activities, helping out during playtimes and meal times. Additionally we acknowledge the support of Eric and Terry who have donated their expertise in providing bike maintenance services to our school for many years which keeps our much valued bike riding program at the school up and running.

MOSS Marathon

Plans are well under way to launch the MOSS Marathon at the start of term 3. Staff, students and our community will collectively cover a marathon distance of 42 km around the school by walking, running, wheeling or riding at school. Grateful thanks to the P&C who will organise the fundraising aspect of this event.

CSHS Students

Four CSHS students will spend 20 hours volunteering at MOSS in week 10 to obtain their Cert 3 in Volunteering. MOSS is delighted to be able to provide this opportunity for CSHS students and to continue a long-standing partnership with our local high school.

Coffee Van at MOSS

We now have a regular coffee van at MOSS on the first Friday of the month (except holidays). Staff, parents and carers have been enjoying the chance to catch up and make connections in the coffee spot in the corner of the admin carpark. Thanks to Deb and her Smileys Coffee Van for her support of our school.

Circus Quirkus

Through the generosity of the Immune Deficiencies Foundation Australia (IDFA) and the Cairns business community, free tickets to the Circus Quirkus show were offered to all of our students and their families. The take up of this offer was fantastic and a total of 130 tickets were issued for the show taking place during the upcoming school holidays. This show is a contemporary take on traditional circus acts and provides an entertaining mix of circus acts from all over the world to deliver a hugely entertaining and funny show for all to enjoy. A huge MOSS thankyou to the sponsors for their kindness and support of our community.

**When we work together, we can achieve amazing things**

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) at MOSS!

Over the last 10 weeks it has been wonderful to see students across the school displaying our 3 school expectations:
We have seen Buck the Kangaroo, Blaze the Water Dragon and Rosie the Horse help students explore, learn and practise positive behaviours such as ‘I use equipment safely’, ‘I use kind words’ and ‘I have a go’. We finished the term with ‘I have a go Bingo’, where classes were challenged to have a go at different or new activities to fill out a Bingo Card. Congratulations to K Hub who won the draw and got to have a special Disco Party to celebrate their hard work and achievements.

Hubs have started taking ownership of PBL implementation and celebration, making adjustments to make PBL at MOSS meaningful, motivating and accessible to all learners. Some Hubs are celebrating a ‘Student of the Day’ with a special lanyard and jobs, highlighting ‘PBL Champions of the Week’ in assemblies and all hubs are placing special focus on small achievements as they happen.

It has been wonderful to see an increase in students filling their sticker charts and visiting Admin to choose a prize from the Prize Box.

Drama Classes

It was an exciting term for MOSS with our Open Theatre (non-verbal) drama practice. We have been building confidence and capability at a student's own level and pace, using music, dance, physical theatre, and games. Students interacted with staff, peers, and the learning experience itself to create and share in a joyful way. The increased positive attitudes of students as a whole group were testament to the success of the non-verbal drama experience across the semester.

We enjoyed visiting Mudgerabah Special School to demonstrate the practice. It was very warmly received by students and staff alike, and we look forward to further collaborations with them. Queensland Ballet’s education and community staff came to play, and MOSS were finalists in the Sydney Opera House Play Awards.

And lastly, our drama team are off to England during the upcoming holidays (and into term 3) to undertake a residency and mentorship at Open Theatre UK in Birmingham! We will return with so much knowledge and a richer practice. Watch this space! (Many thanks to Brisbane City Council for their support through granting Emma a Lord Mayor’s Creative Fellowship.)
Colette, Emma and Ainsley

Playful Drama Classes for People with Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities

IPC_ad_2024_.pdf

www.inpersoncreative.com

G Hub

This term we had some very exciting updates in G block. With the help of our administration and leadership we had our outside learning spaces reviewed by our therapy team. We wanted to make our outdoor learning spaces more inviting for our young students with a range of different sensory preferences. As a result of this process, the therapy team developed a report that outlined a number of recommendations on how our Hub environment could be improved. As a team we prioritised pieces of equipment that we felt the students would engage with most and would meet their individual learning needs. It was very exciting to see the equipment arriving so quickly and the students benefiting from the result of the environmental review. The students love the new climbing equipment, soft play equipment, bikes and scooters and multi-sensory play options. They are all stored in our brand new G Hub shed for easy and safe access.

Please see the photos of our students enjoying their play time and exploring the new exciting toys.

G1 Gallery

D/E Hub

And just like that, half the year has gone.

The past term has kept us busy from go to whoa, engaging in a variety of activities that have enriched our students' learning experiences. Each child in our Hub brings their unique personality, and we strive to bring out that special sparkle in each of them. Communication has played a predominant role throughout our days, helping us develop essential social skills and fostering a supportive environment.

Our students were particularly captivated by the amazing ANZAC Day activities, with highlights including live camels and army equipment. The event was both educational and inspiring, providing a tangible connection to history. E Block hosted heartwarming Mother’s Day activities, which were enthusiastically received by the kids and their Mums, along with other wonderful women in their lives.

National Storytime was another memorable event, where no one was feeling blue as we enjoyed the telling of "Bowerbird Blues" and participated in engaging, themed activities. Fridays have transformed into Fun Days with the introduction of Outdoor Learning Activities. The middle session is abuzz with stations designed to captivate student interests and align with our curriculum, creating a carnival-like atmosphere that has become a highlight of the week.

Our Drama sessions with Colette, Emma, and Ainsley have been a joy, bringing out the students' sense of humour and creativity. Eric, our HPE specialist, has introduced us to a variety of physical pursuits such as bowling, golf, yoga, and baseball, ensuring that we stay active and engaged.

As we look forward to more learning fun after the holidays, we reflect on the wonderful experiences we've shared and the progress our students have made. Here's to more exciting adventures and learning opportunities in the coming months!

AB hub had an exciting term 2 as we welcomed a new student and a class moving across from K block to join our hub as B1 class. Our new student has settled in very well into the new school environment and classroom routines. B1 has enjoyed the great outdoor space in the garden and forming new friendships within the hub.

Our students have had a busy, fun-filled term as they participated in the ANZAC Day, National Simultaneous Storytime and NAIDOC week activities. The highlights for our students during the commemoration of ANZAC Day would be the decorating of wreaths, feeding of camels, face-painting, dressing-ups and exploring the huge military vehicle!

Students had enjoyed the National Simultaneous Storytime as they gathered to listen to the story ‘Bowerbird Blues’ written by Aura Parker. They had engaged in sensory activities through art, play and scavenger hunt while interacting with and recognising the images from the story.

HPE and Touch Football would have been some of the other activities that our students had enjoyed as they learnt how to kick and catch a football while following simple rules and instructions. They had shown the abilities to wait, turn take and share as they participated in various gross motor skills activities during these sessions.

In class, communications have been ongoing with students using their individual communication systems as they conveyed their messages and interacted socially with staff and peers. There have been some wow moments as they shared about their interesting thoughts and comments! Students created texts using alternate pencils in writing as they read and viewed stories from authors of First Nations Australians. Multi-modal presentations in numeracy activities were delivered as students learnt to count, collect and compare data through hands-on learning engagements such as in cooking. They had also investigated the positions and locations of themselves and objects through songs, interactive whiteboard numeracy programs and games. We are proud of our students’ achievements this term as they continue to build on their skills in all aspects throughout their learning journeys.

From A/B Hub teachers – Chloe Stubberfield (A1), Courtney Dean (A2), Anja Schwalenberg (B1) & Sharon Tay (B2).

This term, K Hub have continued their exploration of literacy and numeracy learning in a range of engaging hands-on and play-based learning experiences. Students have loved participating in the shared reading of a range of texts with associated literacy activities. They have connected texts to self, with ample opportunities to share their preferences, personal experiences and favourite activities to an audience.

In numeracy, Students have explored position and data using a range of concrete resources and social activities. They have explored positional language in scavenger hunts, positional games, classroom routines, Health and Physical Education and extracurricular activities. Students have thoroughly enjoyed collecting data from their peers, and using this to select most liked activities for reward times and class activities.

Learning has focused on improving student skills and knowledge, whilst also providing opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate a range of social and play skills. Staff have witnessed students extend these skills into shared play activities, with students demonstrating kindness and creativity in their play.

Learners across our hub have worked so hard on their assessments. Our English unit on Indigenous stories culminated in students creating and sharing their own texts to retell stories. Students really enjoyed making images in this unit of work, exploring a range of art making techniques. From line drawings, watercolour wash, painting with acrylics and collage, students have had the opportunity to explore a wide range of materials and art making techniques. After engaging in our maths units, our students now have a stronger grasp of place value. Our student’s understanding of positional language developed when giving and following directions. We also built our statistics understanding, collecting, recording and organising data.

Maths rotations on a Friday have provided reinforcement of number topics, location and positioning and data collection. Our learners have enjoyed coming together to learn mathematics concepts through hands on activities using the body, hand and mind using physical movement, games, dance, music and art/craft activities. Creative and active learning activities motivated our student’s interest and enthusiasm in mathematical investigations, problem solving challenges and games! We’ve also started our empty milk bottle collection drive and hope we can get to 100 before the holidays. Stay tuned for what we create!

The Sporting School’s program, with a focus on touch football has been a great hit. Sport offers so much to our students. As well as developing physical skills, sporting opportunities help develop resilience, persistence, team work skills and communication. Student confidence gets a real boost too, after successfully engaging to learn new skills. There’s been a lot of fun learning touch football skills every Wednesday!

C1 has really enjoyed creating artwork about different shared reading texts. Last week we read the book ‘Shake a Leg’ by Boori Monty Pryor, which got everyone interested in Indigenous dances. We’ve also been focussing on learning a story song ‘Shorty Creek’ by students at Barunga school, and using this to communicate about what we see in our natural environment. Every Tuesday Miss Sandie has been visiting to do an interactive storytelling session with props, which students have found highly motivating. C1 might be getting hooked on the ‘Bad Guys’ series. Daily bike riding sessions, as well as the trampoline and swings continue to be popular, and great for supporting health and fitness too!

In C2 students have used Robots to explore the concepts of direction, position and location. Sasha, K-9 and Wally can be controlled through remotes and can be directed through obstacle courses or to various locations around the room. The BeeBots and BlueBots can be used to program in a path for the Bot to follow, moving around a variety of maps. The BlueBot can be controlled via an iPad App which was a big hit.

C2 students have started an in-school program called ‘C2 Playdough People’. Students have been highly involved in the whole process of setting up the program from emailing out EOI, creating logos, planning and writing shopping lists, online orders of stock, creating order forms and of course making playdough. There are about 8 classes across the school that we regularly make playdough orders for and deliver to each Monday afternoon. It has been very rewarding to receive emails and letters from the classes with kind words and photos of students enjoying the playdough. This has been a great initiative which stemmed from Yuna’s love of playdough and Jehan’s love of cooking.

J1 has had a busy Term 2. We carried out data collection by finding out which fruits and meals people preferred. Students used tally marks to record results on tables then transferred data into picture and bar graphs. We found out that apples were the favourite fruit and burgers the most popular meals. In English we continued to read Indigenous stories, two of the books we read were by the same author Gregg Dreise ‘Cunning Crow’ and ‘Awesome Emu’. Students really liked the illustrations and artwork in the books. This inspired us to create our own rainbow artwork with various multicoloured birds.

A highlight this semester for our hub, has been implementing a Positive Behaviour for Learning assembly twice a term, and weekly PBL awards to celebrate the efforts of students who are consistently demonstrating the school expectations. At our last hub assembly all of our classes were very attentive listeners, and it is great to see our students so eager to celebrate the achievements of their peers. Everyone also enjoyed the disco at the end, where they could break out all their moves! There’s some great dancers in the hub. Everyone worked so hard this term, we decided a Pizza Party with bowling, WWii games and disco dancing were a well earnt reward and great way to celebrate. All our students had a fabulous afternoon and celebrated well!

We wish all our families a safe and happy mid year break, and look forward to all the fabulous learning experiences to come in Semester 2.

C1 Gallery

What a busy term, starting with our whole school ANZAC Day Commemoration activities and finished with the celebration of NAIDOC week.

As the weather began to cool down, more of our HI Hub students have joined in our outdoor learning experiences. Each day, we provide opportunities to explore and learn in our inviting outdoor space. Providing these learning provocations in our students’ preferred spaces supports their agency and interest. Experiences are planned to facilitate skills and understandings, aligning with this semester’s English, Maths, HPE , Drama and personalised learning goals.

In English based sessions, students explored letters, writing using various alternate pencils, reading, and book/text based sensory activities. Texts we have used as a focus have included; ‘Here They Come- a Day to Remember’; ‘This is Me’; ‘No Matter what’; ‘This is My Happy Place’, ‘Country’ and ‘Walk with Me’.

During Maths based sessions, our two foci have been numbers and positional language. We have counted lots of different objects and movements, finding things in shaving foam, finger puppets, jumping on the trampoline, and bouncing balls have been favourites.

Obstacle courses have supported our exploration of how our bodies move and positional language. We moved on, off, through, under and over using tunnels, the gym ball, bubbles, wheeled toys, standers and walkers. Our confidence, co-ordination, strength, problem-solving, and critical reasoning were challenged and improved.

Drama centred around experiencing, exploring and identifying our emotions in response to music and dramatic story telling. Scarves and musical instruments helped us explore and our AAC systems/devices supported the identification and communication of how we were feeling.

Our Inter-programming model has continued this term with senior students working on developing work readiness and community access skills. This term saw our Certificate One in Active Volunteering group move from volunteering at the Community Garden to a local stable for horse care. Students in the travel training group were out and about in the community using the bus and train, accessing local facilities as well as independently purchasing lunch at shopping centres. Work experience groups at Ewaste and Makeables continued to develop work readiness skills in a supported environment. Community Dance was enjoyed by a bigger group this term at All Abilities Kenmore. Our sport group bushwalked and golfed while our mobility students worked out using a range of OT resources! The community learners also bushwalked and practised their ordering skills for purchasing snacks. Our Year 12’s have been sampling day programs that can be accessed once they finish school – so it’s been a big term out and about!

At school, students completed Enterprise rotations making dog biscuits or developing a hospitality small business selling muffins and sandwiches to staff. Other groups focussed on literacy and numeracy through hands on learning about number, money and position as well as music and sensory stories. The Independent Living Skills group developed skills in washing up, laundry and making lunches.

Each term or semester our young people rotate programs based on their PATH plans, interests and QCAA individual learning goals. Well done to all of our students who are doing a fantastic job and giving their best efforts! Semester two will have a range of different programs up and running for our students to complete when we start a new timetable!

My New Gallery

school_calendar_2024.pdf

Day	Date	Event
Fri	13 Sep 24	Last Day of Term 3
Mon	30 Sep 24	First Day of Term 4
Mon	7th Oct 24	Public Holiday
Mon to Wed	28th - 30th Oct	Senior Camp
Thu	7th Nov 24	Senior Formal
Thu	5th Dec 24	Senior Graduation
Fri	13th Dec 24	Last Day of Term 4

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MOSS Newsletter - Term 2 2024