June 2025 Newsletter

News from the Principal

As Term 2 draws to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on what has been a busy, engaging, and productive term at Rosella Park School. Our students have all excelled – both in the classroom and through a wide range of activities.  We are incredibly proud of their achievements throughout this semester.

A sincere thank you goes out to our families for your continued support and partnership. Your involvement plays a crucial role in our students’ success, and we greatly value the connection we share with you.

In recent weeks, we have experienced a rise in student absences due to illness. We appreciate the care and consideration shown by families who have kept unwell children at home. Your efforts help keep our school community as healthy as possible.

Term 2 also saw the return of one of our favourite events – the Week 8 Sports Carnival.  Well done to all students who participated. It was a fantastic day filled with enthusiasm, smiles, and school spirit. Whether competing, cheering on friends, or assisting behind the scenes, every student played a part in the day’s success.

Looking ahead, we are thrilled to share details of our P&C’s major fundraiser – The Boys Are Back in Town! Mark your calendars for Friday 26th July. This promises to be a lively and fun-filled evening, and tickets are already in high demand, so don’t miss out – secure your spot early! For updates and ticket information, be sure to visit the Rosella Park School P&C Association Facebook page or click on the following link https://www.stickytickets.com.au/xo7qg/raise_funds_lower_expectationsa_comedy_trivia_night.aspx

I’d also like to take this moment to acknowledge the dedication and commitment of our wonderful staff. Their ongoing passion and care continue to make an incredible difference in the lives of our students. Thank you for all that you do.

Please be aware that I will be taking leave for at least three weeks early in Term 3 (Weeks 3–5). During this time, we welcome Phil Whatt, Deputy Principal from Gympie Special School, who will be stepping in to support our school. We look forward to working with Phil and thank him for joining our community.

As we head into the holiday break, I wish all our families a safe, relaxing, and enjoyable holiday. Take the time to rest, recharge, and enjoy special moments with your loved ones. We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday 14th July for the start of Term 3.

News from the Deputy Principal

Dear families,

It’s hard to believe we’re already heading into the end of term—what a big, exciting, and positive few months it’s been across the school! We’ve loved seeing the growth in our students, the engagement from our families, and the ongoing support that makes our Rosella  community so special.

As we approach the school holidays, it’s a good time to take a breath and focus on what really matters: wellbeing. The holidays can be a great opportunity to slow things down, reconnect with each other, and give everyone a chance to recharge. That might look like getting out in the sunshine, sticking to gentle routines, finding little moments of joy, or simply enjoying some much-needed rest. However you spend your break, we hope you find ways to look after yourselves and one another.

We also wanted to share a few exciting updates that have been happening behind the scenes. We’re in the final stages of creating a Community Room here at school—a comfortable, dedicated space where students and families can meet with our Guidance Officer, school psychologist, and visiting support teams. This has been a long-time goal of ours, and we’re thrilled to see it coming to life. We hope it becomes a space where important conversations can happen in a calm, welcoming environment.

In addition, we’re in the process of securing a Chaplain (or “Chappy”) to join our staff team. A Chappy can offer another layer of emotional and social support, build positive relationships with students and families, and provide another trusted adult for our young people to turn to. We’re really excited about the potential this role brings to our community.

And finally—we’d love your input on something we’re planning for next term! We’re organising a special parent session with a visiting paediatrician and allied health team, focused on supporting students with multiple impairments. The goal is to make this session as relevant and helpful as possible, so we’re asking parents and carers to tell us what they’d like to hear about. Whether it’s understanding behaviour, sleep and routines, medical supports, or just navigating services—we want to hear what matters to you.

If you haven’t already, please take a minute to click the link below and let us know your thoughts. Your feedback is incredibly valuable and will help us tailor the session to meet your needs.

👉 Click Here to Help Us!

Thank you once again for being part of our school community. We’re so proud of the work happening here each and every day—and grateful to be on this journey with you. We hope you have a safe, restful and refreshing holiday, and we look forward to seeing you all again in Term 3!

News from the Head of Curriculum

Celebrating Student Creativity at the Mount Larcom Show!

We are so proud to share the incredible efforts of our students and staff in preparing for this year’s Mount Larcom Show, which is happening this weekend!

In classrooms and around the school, creativity has been bursting at the seams. Our students have worked hard (and had loads of fun!) preparing entries for the show’s pavilion competitions—including delicious baked goods, impressive Lego creations, and stunning pieces of art. Their dedication and imagination have been nothing short of inspiring.

A massive thank you goes to our amazing teachers, who have guided and supported students throughout the process, helping them bring their best work to life.

And we’d like to give a very special shoutout to Miss Julie Nott, our wonderful BSM, for going above and beyond to deliver all of our entries to Mount Larcom. Her support has been absolutely invaluable in making sure our students' work gets the recognition it deserves.

We can’t wait to see how our entries go in the competition—and no matter the outcome, we are already winners thanks to the teamwork, creativity, and community spirit shown by everyone involved.

Good luck to all our students, and enjoy the show!

News from the Administration team

Student uniforms:

A reminder to all parents and carers that students should be coming to school in full uniform every day. As the weather is getting cooler, students will be wanting to wear jumpers or jackets to school. Please ensure that if your student is wearing jumpers and track suit pants that they are in the school colours (i.e. navy blue). Also jeans and/or hoodies and football jerseys are NOT part of the school uniform and therefore should be discouraged. Please see the attached Rosella Park School uniform policy for clarification. If you have any questions, please contact the Admin team on 49768333.

Lower Primary 1 - Mrs Ward & Miss Harris

Students have been enjoying exploring the school environment as they travel to different locations for their movement breaks. All students have developed a love for our classroom routine songs and are starting to identify each regular routine. 

For instance toys get put away during the pack up song, and school bags go on back during the goodbye song.

It is great to see them learning the routines and following the staff expectations at the right time.

Next term we have some fun new learning coming as we branch into more hands-on science and outdoor HPE lessons. 

Have a great time over the two week holidays.

Lower Primary 1

Lower Primary 2 - Mr Shaun

This term has passed 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

We can’t believe another semester is almost finished!  Lower Primary 3 have had a lot of fun learning.  Our focus has been on communication, and the students have all made progress in this area.  They are consistently using AAC devices to comment and respond to questions, communicating their preferences and using daily greetings.  This has been highlighted in their work and ensuring a safe learning environment for all.  The support from the teaching staff has been invaluable and has supported our students to achieve the goals set.  Craft, sensory and songs are incorporated into every learning area and this has encouraged the students to stay engaged and complete activities.  Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday.

LP 3

Lower Primary 4 - Miss Michelle W

Hello families,

As the term ends, I would like to thank the wonderful team in LP4. Their enthusiasm, dedication and willingness to go above and beyond is greatly appreciated. We have had a fantastic term with students consistently exploring and participating in a range of learning activities both in the classroom and wider school area. Students have particularly enjoyed exploring a variety of shape activities, art and craft projects and transitioning to other areas of the school in the afternoon.  After both breaks students come in from play, have a drink and explore with the books. An addition to this routine is that they now also like us to put on relaxation music in the background. Favoured relaxing songs all seem to be ones that have ocean life especially turtles and dolphins.

Have a safe and happy break.

Thank you the LP4 team.

Upper Primary 1 - Miss Sharon

Wow, it is the end of another very busy term.  We have cooked up a storm, read many stories and learnt lots about shapes and position in Maths.  The fun does not stop there as next week we have Shazam Shop and Rewards Day to look forward to.  Here's to wishing you all a safe holiday and we look forward to an amazing term of learning on our return from holidays!

Upper Primary 1

Upper Primary 2 - Miss Hannah

I can’t believe that we have reached the end of term two already. This semester really has flown. All of our assessment is now finished and you should keep an eye out for your child’s report cards soon. The students really enjoyed learning about shape, space, traditional stories and special occasions this semester all while engaging in fun and highly motivating activities. This week we have started to slow down a little and have particularly enjoyed sensory sessions. We learnt how to make our own slime using shaving cream this week and this was a big hit with all of the students. Next week we have our PBL rewards day to look forward to and on Friday we will have a little end of term party to celebrate all of our hard work in Upper Primary 2. With one more week to go I would like to wish all of you a safe and happy holiday. I will see you in term 3!

Upper Primary 3 - Mr Mark

Upper Primary 3 has been working well this term. For Literacy we have been learning lots about phonetic sounds, as well as sequencing stories that we have read as a class. For Numeracy we have been learning about 3D shapes and using the language of location. We have also continued our cooking program on Fridays and last week made lamingtons. We look forward to a great end to the term!

Upper Primary 4 - Mrs Maguire

As we approach the end of a wonderful term, we’re excited to celebrate all the hard work, learning, and fun we've had in class!

Students are looking forward to our End of Term and Rewards Day which will take place on Thursday 26th June.
This special day is a chance to recognise the effort and achievements of all our pupils with games, and a few surprises along the way! We’re so proud of each and every child for their progress this term, and we look forward to finishing on a high note before the break!

Have a happy safe break and see you all next term.

Junior Secondary 1 - Mr Mike

As we reach the end of the first semester of 2025, I have been writing student reports. This has given me a chance to think about how much progress the students have made since the start of the year.

I’m very happy with how well the Junior Secondary 1 students have done this semester. Their progress has helped me choose new learning goals for them. I’ve picked goals that will be a bit more challenging and will help each student grow and improve over the next six months.

In Semester Two, we will learn about time and data in Maths, practise our reporting skills in English, and explore how everyday objects behave in Science. We will also be studying Health and Physical Education (HPE) instead of History and Geography. I hope everyone has a relaxing Winter break and comes back ready for the new learning ahead in the next semester.

Junior Secondary 2 - Miss Pauline

Oh! my goodness, this term has gone so fast! The students in JS2 have worked so hard to complete assessments and we are now starting to wind down towards the holidays. This term we have recently started engaging in a ‘Yarning Circle’, where we sit together in a circle and have a yarn with each other. We use this time to ask each other questions and get to know each other better. Students are encouraged to think of a question they can ask that we can all answer. We pass the football to each other to indicate who is next to answer the question. It also makes it fun, especially when some students like to pretend to throw it and scare me.

Miss Judy gave students the opportunity to choose some Lego boxes, and as you can see, Tyriq chose the helicopter and roller tractor to work on. He worked independently and did very well at following the instructions to make them.

JS 2

Junior Secondary 3 - Miss Cindy

"We’ve made it to Week 9! It’s been wonderful to see how much our class has grown in confidence, kindness, and curiosity this term. Students are working hard, supporting each other, and continuing to show great resilience as we head toward the end of the term. Keep it up, everyone – the finish line is in sight!"

JS 3

Junior Secondary 4 - Miss Susan

The end of semester is upon us, assessment completed and  report cards ready for printing. The boys have produced excellent biographies in English and well thought out PowerPoints in Science. Their hard work is commendable. I have attached some excerpts from their work.

 Written by B

Written by C

 Written by N

Senior Secondary 1 - Miss Sally

Another great term!

This term we have just finished our assessments and are still continuing on with our vocational programs.

Tuckshop is running seamlessly every week and we thank everyone for their support. We are busy working behind the scenes on a new tuckshop menu for next semester – stay tuned!

Students have entered their cooking into three categories in the Mt Larcom show. Due to our age we have had to enter into the adult category. We aren’t phased however and are quietly confident we will come home with some prizes 😊Keep your fingers crossed!

Next semester we will bring in new subjects into our curriculum areas. We will however continue on with our vocational work experience programs with recycling and tuckshop.

Don’t forget September 2^nd – Post School services expo! We hope to see you there!

Happy Holidays!!

Miss Sally and Miss Simone

Senior Secondary 1

Senior Secondary 2 - Mrs Leeson

This semester is almost at an end. That means some of our current subjects are coming to an end. Progress in all subject areas will be noted on the students report cards that are coming home soon. Our gardening program is one that will be continued next semester. We are in the process of preparing all our garden beds ready for planting as soon as spring arrives. Check out our photos.

Did you get a chance to attend the Mount Larcom Show. This year the students from our class have entered one item each in various competitions. We have a couple in the Lego display, a beading entry, a photography entry, with some of our artwork featuring in the school display.

Some exciting ‘Save the Date” news. On September the 2^nd our school will be hosting a ‘Post School Services Expo”. We have invited agencies and service providers from our region to come and show case programs and services that our students can engage with when they leave school. It is recommended that parents and care givers begin the process of preparing for life beyond school well in advance.

As we head into the school holidays we have to say a sad farewell to Oscar. He will be heading down south to enjoy a tree change with his family. We have loved having Oscar as part of our community and we will miss him. We wish Oscar and his family all the best with their move and their new home.

On that note, have a great holiday and we will see everyone back ready for a new semester in July.

Mrs Leeson, Ms Harris, Ms Tammy and Ms Sara

SS 2

Student Council

Every week our councillors meet on a Wednesday. The meetings are always started with a focus activity to build community amongst our members.

Below are photos of some of our challenges this term- walking in unison on the planks, and ping pong ball hockey.

Our fundraiser this term is ‘Loo$e Change’ and we will spend the next two meetings counting our collections and announcing the totals at parade on Fridays. 

This term we have written over 25 letters to local businesses asking for donation for our PBL Rewards Shazam shop.  Each week we check in with what they have sent to us. We look at the items and decide what level of Shazams would be needed to ‘buy’ that item in the Rewards Shop.

We also contribute to the running of school’s weekly parade.  Our school captains are always present to help, and the rest of us are taking it in turn to help so our parades run smoothly.

Our meetings and follow up activities, keep us very busy. We are proud to represent and support our school.

Student Council

Athletics news - Ms Harris

Here is the second chance to get a Sports Shirt now you have seen them around. 

Orders need to be placed by the 4^th of July. 

https://onlinestore.devonclothing.com.au/rosella-park-school/

Sports Day is 12^th September and they have guaranteed to me we will have them in time. 

I have attached staff sports houses FYI

The school athletics season has well and truly started now.
We had 9 students attend the Capricornia cross country in Rockhampton. They all did well and 8 of them are continuing to State Championships in Brisbane 18-20 July.

Track and Field started with the Gladstone Multi Class Athletics day on the 13^th June and we are proud to announce that from that 19 students are being offered a chance to compete at the Port Curtis event on 29&30 July. See below for who qualified.

To enable the athletes from Rosella keep improving and honing their skills training is continuing 3 times a week in Term 3.

Monday afternoons from 3-4pm students will work on basic technique and fitness and this will occur at school, this training is for all students keen to try athletics.

Wednesday morning at school 8am-8:30am will be focussed on long distance running and this is only for those athletes who are heading to Brisbane for cross country. 

Wednesday afternoon training will be held at the Athletics oval on Derby Street and this training is for the athletes who are going on to compete at the next level of track and field competition. The focus will change week to week starting on 16^th July with runs and discus. A big importance should be placed on attending on the 23^rd July if you have an athlete interested in sprints or jumps, we have a professional coach who has worked with Olympians coming to Gladstone.

If you have any questions about cross country or track and field contact Caroline Harris.

Community News