March/April 2025

News from the Principal

Term 1 Wrap-Up – What a Fantastic Start!

Can you believe how quickly the first term has flown by? As we wrap up our final newsletter for Term 1, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the tremendous effort and dedication from both our students and staff. Despite the busy pace of the term, everyone has worked hard to reach their personal learning goals, and I am incredibly impressed by their commitment.

We are all looking forward to the upcoming Easter holiday break, but before then we have our fun PBL rewards days coming up as well as our PBL Shazam shop opening for students to cash in their Shazams.  I am sure our students will have a great day at the rewards activities.

2025 provides us with an opportunity to start our next 4 years of school improvement post our full school review late 2024.  Throughout 2025, I’m excited to share that we are building on the following strategic goals:

1. Educational achievement - Every student realises their reading potential.
2. Wellbeing and Engagement – Supporting engagement, health, safety, and wellbeing of students.

Thank you to all of our families for engaging in ICP meetings and endorsing your child’s ICP for Semester 1 2025.  This process is important and valuable, as we work together to provide relevant and challenging learning opportunities for all of our students. 

The P&C Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held last week.  Thank you to our 2024 P&C team, and welcome to our 2025 P&C committee.  Our executive members are:

President:  Michelle Cuthbertson

Vice President:  Amy Linwood

Treasurer:  Kerryn Harris

We will be reaching out to all families prior to our next meeting to individually invite you to the next P&C meeting on Thursday 1^st May 2025.

Finally, a big thank you to all the families who have been keeping us informed about their child’s absences. Ensuring regular attendance is vital to your child’s learning and success. The school year moves quickly, and missed days can impact a student's ability to engage with key curriculum activities. If your child will be absent, please contact the school on 4976 8333 to ensure the absence is recorded as excused.

Until the next newsletter, take care, and thank you for your continued support. We look forward to working together to make the most of every school day for your child.

Regards

Geoff Miller

News from Administration

Notification of absences by Parents

Just a reminder for parents to please notify the school if your child will be absent for any reason e.g. appointment, illness, family holiday, etc. You can do this a number of ways i.e. ring the school absentee line and leave a message regarding the absence, respond to the absence SMS, write a note in the communication diary. This will avoid receiving an absentee text message for an unexplained absence. Thank you.

School hours

Our school day commences at 8:45 am. It would be advantageous if all students could arrive on time to minimise disruption to the classrooms and maximise learning time. The school day finishes at 2:45 pm.  It would also be appreciated if parents could advise the school of any change to the pick-up routine of your child either by using the communication diary or contacting the school office on 49768333.

Term break

Term 1 finishes on Friday 4th April for the term and Easter break. Term 2 commences Tuesday 22nd April. We wish all our families a peaceful break.

Tuckshop Orders

Please make sure to have all tuckshop orders into the school by Friday each week.  This allows the team to work out their shopping and budget requirements to provide tuckshop to our students. 

School Uniforms

As it is now week 9 of Term 1, it is reasonable to expect that all students should be coming to school in the appropriate school uniform. Uniforms can be purchased from Everything Uniform on Lord Street. We look forward to seeing how smart our students look in their uniform.

School Jackets

With the cooler months approaching, if you wish to purchase a school jacket for your child, order forms have been sent out via email on Monday 17th March. Please return your order form and payment or proof of payment if paid for online to the school office by end of day Friday 28th March. No orders will be accepted after this date.

Pact Online Trial

“Can you use support for parenting a child with a neurodevelopmental disability or developmental delay? UQ researchers are seeking families of children aged 0-10 years with any neurodevelopmental disability (e.g., autism, ADHD, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, FASD etc) or developmental delay to participate in a research trial of a free online parenting support program, PACT Online. To find out more or register your interest visit https://qcprrc.centre.uq.edu.au/supportforparentspact”

Summary of PACT Online Trial

• Free online parenting program for parents of children aged 0-10 years with a neurodevelopmental disability (e.g., cerebral palsy, autism or FASD etc) or developmental delay
• 12-week online program consisting of one self-paced module per fortnight
• A 60-minute telehealth consultation (via Zoom) per fortnight one-on-one with a therapist
• Completion of assessment items at three time points – before program, after program, and at a 6-month follow-up

Lower Primary 1 - Mrs Ward

Now that the students are settling in, we are using structured play in the classroom to move them away from solitary play. Playing alone has resulted in disputes, broken toys, and tears. Through adult modelling and guidance, we are moving towards associative play or playing with others. Associative play is when children are still doing their own thing, but they are chatting with each other while they play with the same toys. At this stage they are not expected to take turns or cooperate with each other just interact appropriately. The purpose of associative play is to develop communication and social skills in order to create a low stress environment where your children can effectively cooperate with others.

It is still only early days yet, but we are seeing some appropriate interactions in the classroom and the playground and some friendships developing.

Lower Primary 2 - Mr Shaun

This term is passing quickly! Our LP2 class has been actively engaged in new learning experiences, incorporating both hands-on activities and moments of laughter. Students have also been developing their teamwork skills, working collaboratively to foster a supportive and cohesive classroom environment.

Best from LP2 team.

Lower Primary 3 - Miss Helen

What a great term staff and students in LP3 have had and we can't believe how fast it has gone!  Lower Primary have had such a lot of fun getting to know each other.  For History, we have been using our communication devices and ALD boards to respond to questions about what we like and don't like.  We have been looking at the different celebrations that we celebrate over the year and what is special to us. Wishing all families a very restful term break and a happy Easter!

LP 3

Lower Primary 4 - Miss Michelle

Unfortunately, Miss Michelle is unwell and will not be back with us until the start of Term 2. We wish her a speedy recovery and a restful break.

Upper Primary 1 - Miss Sharon

Wow, the term has flown by fast.  We have been doing lots of work learning about our sounds and shapes. We have enjoyed cooking lots of yummy things and reading stories together.  Here's to another term of learning in Term 2! Have a happy and safe holiday!

Upper Primary 2 - Miss Hannah

I can’t believe term 1 is almost complete! It has just flown by! The students have been very busy working through their goals for this semester. In Maths, we have been looking at shape and positional language. We are currently making a rocket ship using different shaped boxes and materials. The students have really enjoyed painting and putting this together. We have been exploring traditional stories in English sessions this term. All students enjoyed reading three little pigs and acting out this favourite story book.  We will be having a little Easter hunt next week to celebrate Easter as a class. Everyone is very excited about this! Please let me know if your child is not permitted to eat chocolate eggs and I will ensure I have something else on offer for the hunt. I would like to wish all of our families a safe and happy Easter. See you all next term! 😊

Upper Primary 3 - Mr Mark

Upper Primary 3 has been working so well this term. For Literacy we have been learning lots about phonetic sounds, as well as sequencing stories that we have read. For Numeracy we have been learning our numbers to 20 and beyond and beginning to learn about skip counting. In Science, we having been learning about the solar system and how it affects us (e.g., night and day, summer and winter). We look forward to our end of term celebration to reward the students for their great work and behaviour this term. Enjoy your break!

Upper Primary 4 - Mrs Maguire

We have had a fantastic start to the year! Students have spent the first part of the semester exploring the topics and goals for each student. Students have been working hard in all their subjects and have earned a holiday. A reminder that our PBL rewards day is happening next Thursday (3rd April), as it is messy, wet play please make sure to send in swimmers (or clothes appropriate for wet play), shoes (i.e. crocs if you have them) as well as their school uniform to change into.

Junior Secondary 1 - Mr Mike

Busy! Busy! Busy!

It’s a packed programme in Junior Secondary 1.

We have spent the first term of 2025 learning about location and direction – we are concentrating on using the correct language to describe our position and on following and giving instructions about moving from place to place. Next term, we shall be moving on to describing and classifying two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional objects.

In our English lessons, the class have been working on recalling events and characters in books, videos or stories. Next term, we shall be moving on to developing our presentation skills by speaking about the life of various people.

Our Science lessons have been a real hit and the class have enjoyed learning about the effects of the movement of the Earth on days, months and seasons. In Geography, we have been learning about how to describe the features of places and on using maps to represent the world.

I will continue to post photos of our activities on ClassDojo for parents and friends to enjoy. Please do not hesitate to contact me at the school if you have any questions about the curriculum or any other aspect of your child’s education.

Junior Secondary 2 - Miss Pauline

The students of JS2 have been working hard and learning lots. In maths, we have been learning about 2D and 3D shapes. Students have made cubes and rectangular prisms and found objects in the classroom that are the same. They have also been sorting and matching 2D shapes and counting the sides and the corners.

During Design Technology lessons with Miss Judy, students have been having a lot of fun creating. Miss Judy asked students to do some problem solving which meant building a bridge. They used paddle-pop sticks and small pieces of timber and produced some awesome bridges; great work guys!!

JS2

Junior Secondary 3 - Miss C

Welcome to week 8. Hasn’t the term flown!

Our students have been working really hard to learn their new work this term. You should be very proud of your children. So, when they come home exhausted, it means they have been using lots of brain power.

In location, our students are practising their modelling of our classroom with lego, drawings and paper models.  They have been following directions to locate places and items around our school community. We have also been cooking weekly to engage our students in practical methods and then they write a recall of their cooking experiences.

Congratulations to our new student council representatives and to our new sports captains.

JS3

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Junior Secondary 4 - Miss Susan

The students in JS 4 have begun creating their 2025 cookbook. One of the favourite recipes so far has been their delicious chicken tacos with fresh guacamole. Building 3-dimensional shapes in mathematics was good fun, but did require a lot of patience and concentration.

Senior Secondary 1 - Miss Sally

What a quick few weeks we have had!

We have been kept busy with our vocational training programs and are well into these now.

Our Tuckshop Program has been running really well with the students receiving a lot of positive feedback on their efforts with this business. In addition, we have now added a drop-in Slushy service with students able to bring in $2 every Wednesday for a slushy.

The 15 businesses that support our recycling program have all commented on the professionalism students are showing when accessing their businesses. They have been working really hard and have already raised over $600 in this program.

We are now in the process of organising our school ANZAC ceremony which the students will run and present in front of the entire school. It has been wonderful to see their enthusiasm for this very important event.

Keep an eye out for our weekly tuckshop specials, and thanks again for your support of this fundamental venture.

Miss Sally and Miss Simone

SS1

Senior Secondary 2 - Miss Harris / Mrs Leeson

Miss Harris - Senior Secondary 2:

As the term is progressing, we have some consistency in place with all our programs, and great routines are happening so that student learning can be the focus. When students have routines and familiar activities, they can worry about learning the content, rather than learning what is happening, and it is definitely helping with the Senior Secondary 2 learning.

Mondays: We start the day with fitness – students do warm up activities and then engage in targeted exercises to help with gross motor movements and to improve fitness. We then move on to our English lesson where we start with a story, then onto our phonics work, followed by comprehension activities. We finish the English lesson with independent work on individual programs on the computer using a combination of the online learning platforms Study Ladder and Prodigy. We finish Mondays with our PBL lesson where we learn the rule of the week; then do Money Mathematics work; and then off to parade. Students from Senior Secondary 2 get certificates on parade when they have achieved new levels within their independent learning.

Tuesdays: We start with Technology in the Community where we go out into the community and use different types of technology. In the middle of the day, we do our Art and Photography lesson where we will use our creativity to either make things to photograph or take photos and turn them in to art. The last lesson on Tuesdays is our number/date/time Mathematics lesson and often involves whole class learning with games such as bingo or working on Calendar work – followed up with some independent Mathematics learning on computers.

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning the students have Mrs Leeson as their teacher.

Friday: In the middle session we do Mathematics, and this is when we have been counting objects – money – in games and also identifying numbers and amounts of things around the room and the school. We finish the week Friday last session by doing social skills activities which often includes playing games together or sharing videos/music that we like for each other to watch.

Overall, everyone is working well in class and in the community and working towards achieving their academic goals.

Mrs Leeson - Senior Secondary 2:

Geez! the weeks are flying by. We can confirm that our school camp will be in October this year and we will be heading to Bundaberg. Lots of planning meetings coming up, including talking to some families about the needs of their children while on camp. I am in the process of working through the work experience paperwork so we can begin this program after the holiday. If you have not returned your paperwork, can you do so as soon as possible. Thanks.

Last week the students began looking into the tasks and jobs that people do to look after their homes. Over the next few months, we are going to learn how to do a variety of household chores and practice them regularly. We began this process with vacuuming. Next week we will look at how to do the washing up and stack the dishwasher.

In the art program, we will be moving on from crayon use with the investigation of paint as an art medium.

Gardening programme

Our garden at the front of the school is coming along slowly. Our groundsman (Mr Craig) is going to work with us this week to help finish the weeding. 

It is not long until the holidays and when we return it will be straight into Anzac Day preparations.

Have a great holiday and Easter break and we will see you when school returns in Term 2 on Tuesday 22nd April.

Mrs Leeson (Wed, Thurs, Friday am) Ms Sara, Ms Tammy

SS2

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AGOSCI

AGOSCI was an acronym for “Australian Group on Severe Communication Impairment”, however, due to changes in terminology and the focus of the group, they no longer refer to themselves in that way but continue to use the acronym as their name.

Michelle Williams, Jo-Anne Leeson and Janice Buckle had the privilege of attending the 2025 AGOSCI Conference in Adelaide last week.

We listened as Australian and International consultants in the field of AAC (Alternative Augmentative Communication), offered their insights into best AAC practice based on years of study and research.

Some of our takeaways

-one size does not fit all. We need to find the best speech approach/program and device to suit the individual.

-we need to continue mapping and tracking our students’ progress to ensure we are aligning with best outcomes for them. Currently, at our school we use the ROCC (Roadmap of Communication Competence) and CM (Communication Matrix)

-we need to use sentence stems as much as possible and NOT just a single word response; eg: I like…., I feel…., It was….., They were……, It made….., I think….., We went……

-modelling continues to be vitally important for our students on our and their devices.

-best results for students occur when both home and school are using the communication system

-best results also occur when the student has a device JUST For COMMUNICATION without any games added to it.

It was a highly encouraging and motivating time as we listened to stories of people whose lives improved once they started using AAC. They expressed their frustrations at not being understood by those around them. Once paired with an AAC device, their behaviour and self-regulation improved, they could share their needs and wants. These presenters gave their whole presentation via AAC, as they were not verbal.

The AGOSCI community is very supportive. Their conferences are held every two years and fortunately for us the next one in 2027 is being held in Brisbane.

Our students with communication requirements need AAC to help them access the mandatory Australian Curriculum. We all need to be working together to help our students progress in their communication and education journey.

We are ever grateful to be given such an opportunity to explore and learn more about AAC for our students.

Photos from the conference

News from the Community

Saver Plus is a program designed to help eligible families develop essential financial skills and build savings for education costs.

If parents commit to saving up to $50 a month for 10 months, ANZ will match their savings up to $500 for education costs, such as school uniforms, stationary, textbooks, computers.