Edition 34
- Principal's Message
- "Farewell and Thank-you" from our Acting Deputy Principal Mrs Angela Armstrong
- Deputy Principals' Message
- Technology-free Zone!
- Messages from Executive Services
- Music Notes with Mrs Chivers
- UMS Uniform Shop Update
- Sharks Volleyball Holiday Pass
- Rookies2Reds - GIRLS ON HOLIDAYS CLINIC
- YMCA Everleigh - Re-enrolling for 2024 and Summer Vacation Care
Principal's Message
As we head into the final week of the 2023 school year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our school community for a great second year of operation. Since opening in February 2022, we have grown from 202 students to 438 students to date. Next year, we welcome 104 Prep students and at least another 20 students across Year 1 to Year 6.
Farewells
Next Tuesday, 5 December, we farewell our 33 Year 6 students. We invite all of our Everleigh State School families to join us for the graduation of our seniors.
In addition to farewelling our Year 6 students at our final parade for the 2023 school year on Friday 8 December at 8.45 am, we will also farewell the following staff members:
- Mrs Angela Armstrong, who has been a member of our Everleigh State School Family for the past 16 months, as both Prep – Year 2 Deputy Principal, Year 3 – Year 6 Deputy Principal. Everleigh State School has been very lucky to have had Mrs Armstrong as part of our team and we wish her all the best on her next journey.
- Mr Laurent Rocquet, who is one of our regular relief teachers for the past 2 years, joined us this semester in the role of an Internal Relief teacher covering all classes from Prep to Year 6 and at present, STEAM while Ms Jenkins is on leave. While we say farewell to Mr R as a full-time contract teacher for this past semester, I have no doubt we will see him again as a regular relief teacher.
- Ms Siliva Balenaivalu has taught 4B this term while Ms Beckett-Mathews undertook a Head of Department – Curriculum role at another school. Ms B has also been a relief teacher throughout the year, and while she will not be on staff next year, we may see her as a relief teacher again in 2024.
- Mr Robert Bradford has been with us for a short time this term, supporting Year 5 and Year 5/6 classes, which have been oversized this term. Mr Bradford’s support in these classrooms has been appreciated and welcomed to support Mr Alexandrou, Ms Suter and Mrs Davis ensure their students were not disadvantaged in these larger classes.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Armstrong, Mr R, Ms B and Mr Bradford the CARE they have provided our students and wider community whilst at Everleigh State School. On behalf of our school community, I wish them every success for 2024 and beyond.
New and returning staff
As we say farewell to four (4) of our staff members, we welcome six (6) new teachers to our growing school community. In varying roles across our school, we welcome the following teaching staff.
- Ms Kelly Twine
- Ms Lauren Purdon
- Ms Orienne Morgan-Melenhorst
- Ms Tara Arthurs-Yates
- Ms Danielle Martin
- Ms Rebecca Hughes
We also welcome back Ms Ashleigh Beckett-Mathews and Ms Fay Murrell in 2024. Mrs Carol Rice will continue in Executive Services with Ms Marina in 2024.
Shuffle Up/Meet the Teacher for 2024
On Thursday 7 December, students will meet their 2024 classroom teachers during our Shuffle Up/Meet the Teacher session. Students will bring home with them the name and location of their classroom teacher on Thursday afternoon. If your child is absent on Thursday, please contact the Executive Services after 12.00 pm. For privacy reasons, class lists will not be posted around the school or shared publicly. Due to the large number of Prep students and a family member, as well as other new families to our school in 2024, parents/carers or current students are unable to attend this session.
Thank you to our P&C
School P&Cs are run purely on volunteers and Everleigh State School is no different. Our small but dedicated P&C has worked tirelessly for our students throughout this year with a number of fundraising events. Thank you to the parents/carers who assisted with these fundraising events.
It is a huge effort for our P&C Executives to have achieved what they have done this year, given they are working parents as are many of you. Their commitment to our school has raised over $30,000 across this year.
Early in the 2024 year, the P&C will hold their AGM. I encourage as many of you to come along to this meeting to find out more about what our P&C does. Without a P&C, additional funds to support our students cannot be raised. Many hands make light work, and while you may not be able to commit to attending every meeting or assisting at all events, your help for even an hour at one event is of great assistance to the very small number of members and volunteers at our P&C events. For more information on how you can assist our P&C, please email everleighsspandc@gmail.com
School Newsletter in 2024
As you can appreciate, a great deal of time and effort from a number of our staff is taken each fortnight to write and publish our school newsletter. It is disappointing when information is shared via this platform and we still receive questions about when such information will be shared.
As such, we are strongly considering reducing the number of newsletters published each term. To assist in further reviewing and refining how we communicate with our families, please complete the brief survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LPM9CZX
Commencement of the 2024 School Year
The 2024 school year will commence on Monday 22 January. Our gates will open as usual at 8.00 am and parents/carers will be able to accompany their child to their classroom on the first day. Executive Services will be closed from 3.15 pm on Friday 8 December and reopen in the week before the commencement of our school office. Please keep an eye out on Facebook for our Office opening hours during that week.
Please be mindful, that while our admin@everleighss.eq.edu.au and principal@eq.edu.au mailboxes and Facebook will be checked periodically over the course of the Summer break, responses will not be immediate.
I would like to take this opportunity again to thank you for the CARE you provide to our staff, students and community. To our Year 6 families and other families who are moving on from Everleigh State School in 2024, I wish you every success.
On behalf of our CARE-ing staff, I wish you all a very happy and safe break and look forward to an exciting 2024!
"Farewell and Thank-you" from our Acting Deputy Principal Mrs Angela Armstrong
Dear Parents, Caregivers and Everleigh State School community,
It has been my absolute privilege to serve as acting Deputy Principal for the past 16 months. Throughout this time, I have supported students and teachers in all classes Prep to Year 6 while replacing Mrs Harker and Mr Morley during periods of leave. It has been a professionally enriching experience thanks to the support and partnership of our community and through the CARE (commitment, accountability, respect and encouragement) shown by our incredible staff.
As I transition to new opportunities, please accept my heartfelt thanks and very best wishes for your continued success and happiness.
Angela Armstrong
Deputy Principals' Message
Concert
Everleigh State School always strives to engage with our community and seeing the amazing crowd for our End of Year Concert was phenomenal. Students were wonderful as they presented pieces they had been practising in class throughout the term. Over 500 chairs were placed in the hall for parents and the community and these were all filled with many still standing. This support for our students is excellent. Thanks must be extended to our staff who planned and organised this event and particularly for those who performed at the end of the night.
Harnessing Technology
Over the past fortnight we have had two parent information sessions to prepare for the implementation of iPads next year for our Year 1 students moving into Year 2. The engagement from the parent groups who participated was wonderful. Please feel free to contact the school for more information regarding our 1-1 iPad program. The information session notes will be sent out shortly along with an information booklet to help parents prepare over the holidays.
Graduation
On Tuesday, December 5th, our Year 6 students will have their graduation in the school hall at 9.00am. Students and their parents will be invited to a morning tea following to celebrate this landmark that students have reached. Students in Year 6 will be going to White Water World on Thursday to celebrate their time at school as they prepare to move into secondary education.
PBL Acknowledgement Processes
This year we have been reviewing our processes and working with regional staff to fine-tune and improve how our Positive Behaviour for Learning operates at Everleigh State School. As part of this process, surveys have been completed by parents and students to provide feedback to best inform practice. From this survey, a proposal has been put forward by the PBL Committee for refinement of our acknowledgement processes. The proposal is as follows.
- CARE Credits will continue to be used as an acknowledgement of students meeting and exceeding expectations at school. They will continue to be stored in grid sheets or booklets as determined by the teacher. When a grid sheet is complete, students will receive a CARE Card. Half of this card would be taken home and the other half deposited into a House Box for a weekly draw on parade.
- The CARE Card will be placed into a House Box for one student to be selected weekly. Entries will be emptied each week and placed in the end of term draw for a second-chance draw. A prize box including stationery, handballs, ice blocks etc will be created for students whose names are pulled out. House Captains will tally CARE Credits weekly to award a House Champion each term with tallies reset for the new term.
- CARE Certificates will be re-labelled as a CARE Award rather than a bronze, silver, gold etc. These will be handed out every 100 CARE Credits (4 CARE Credit Grids) on the next parade. Parents will be informed that student will be receiving an award.
Could you please support our update by completing the survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8RGCTWJ
This link has also been sent as an email to all parents.
Technology-free Zone!
Messages from Executive Services
Medication collection on Dec 8th
As the year is coming to an end, parents are reminded to collect their child’s medication from the office before the end of the last day.
2024 school medication & medical information
- All Medical Action Plans MUST be current and up to date at the beginning of the school year.
- New student medication consent forms must be provided at the start of each year for all ongoing medication taken at school. These are available at the office.
- Our office will be open for receipt of medication the week before school resumes:
Wednesday 17th January from 7am – 3pm
Thursday 18th January from 9am – 5pm
Please note, we will not be accepting medication or medical documents on the first day of school.
Administration of Medication
Our staff are required to ensure the following has been received prior to any medication being administered.
Medication must be:
- Prescribed by a qualified health practitioner (e.g. doctor, dentist)
- Presented to Executive Services in a pharmacy prepared webster pack with your child’s name, required dosage and prescribing health practitioner.
Note: Webster packs are required for all long term medication for ease of administering
When providing medication to Executive Services, you will be required to:
- Complete an Administration of Medication at School Record Sheet
- Bring completed form, Action Plan (if applicable) and your child’s required medication.
- For regular, ongoing medication (such as medication for ADHD, ASD), provide a letter from the prescribing physician stating the reason for which the medication is being administered.
- Ensure that any medication provided is within the used by Medication provided after the used by date will not be administered.
If your child requires more than one medication, you will need to complete a form for each medication.
Please note the following information:
- Your child’s teacher is unable to accept any medication on your behalf unless previously arranged with Executive Services under extreme circumstances
- School staff are not permitted to administer over-the-counter medication from chemists or supermarkets unless it has been prescribed by your child’s qualified health practitioner and is accompanied by a pharmacy label stating your child’s name, dosage and prescribing practitioner. For example, the school would administer paracetamol to a student only if it has been prescribed by their dentist to be taken for a short time after dental treatment.
- School staff are bound by these regulations and we expect all parents/carers to acknowledge and cooperate with these rules.
- When your child’s medication is no longer required at school, please ensure it is collected from Executive Services.
Requirements for students at risk of anaphyaxis
If your child is at risk of anaphylaxis, it is important for you to provide the school with your child’s emergency medication and their ASCIA Anaphylaxis Action Plan, completed by your doctor.
This Anaphylaxis Action Plan provides the instructions for the school to administer your child’s medication in an emergency, which is specific to respond to their health condition.
If you have any concerns about your child’s health condition, please contact Executive Services.
Requirements for students at risk of asthma
If your child has asthma and requires assistance to administer their medication, it is important
for you to provide the school with your child’s emergency medication and their Asthma Action Plan, completed by your child’s doctor. An Asthma Action Plan provides specific instructions for the school to administer your child’s medication.
We recognise that some students are capable of managing their asthma without adult assistance. At Everleigh State School, it is an expectation that all medications are stored securely in Executive Services. If you are confident that your child can confidently, competently and safely self-administer
their asthma medication, let our staff know. Your child will report to Executive Services when required and permitted to self-administer their asthma medication and will be recorded by our staff. Please note that if your child requires assistance in an asthma emergency, staff will provide Asthma First Aid. Our school has staff trained to provide Asthma First Aid in an emergency to any student demonstrating signs and symptoms of serious asthma attack.
If you have any concerns about your child’s asthma, please contact Executive Services
Student Unexplained Absences
Each Monday we send home a paper copy of any unexplained absences your student may have. Parents/carers have a legal obligation to notify the school the reason for the absence. If your student has unexplained absences, please complete the notes sent home this coming Monday 1st Dec, and return them to the office the following day.
Alternatively, you may also update absences via the QParents app, or by visiting or calling our office.
We would appreciate your assistance to clear these before the end of the year.
Lost property – last call!
All unclaimed items will be donated or binned at the end of the school year.
Please see the attached photos of all remaining items waiting for their owners to claim them.
We still have UNNAMED items of uniform. If you are missing jackets or hats, please contact us straight away. Any remaining unnamed uniform items will be donated to families in need.
For 2024 back to school, please remember that name labels make all the difference in helping us to returned lost items to the correct students. We kindly remind parents to name hats, lunch boxes, water bottles, etc. We really appreciate your assistance with this
Music Notes with Mrs Chivers
Thank you for supporting our end of year concert. I am very proud of the performances of our students.
A big thank you goes to our facilities officer Brendan for setting up the hall; Ms Elicia Jenkins our STEAM teacher who put together the Powerpoint presentation; Ms Kerri Muller for operating said Powerpoint; Mrs Angela Armstrong our wonderful MC (microphone Captain); and all the classroom teachers and Aides for their support.
Miss McCullough, our instrumental teacher will have spoken to students about making sure any school instruments are returned. If your child has been offered a place in the instrumental program in 2024, can you please get completed and signed forms back to school by Next Tuesday at the latest.
I look forward to seeing all our wonderful students and families in 2024. Have a safe and relaxing break.
As Cecily Morgan said
“Music is life! That’s why our hearts have beats.”
Keep on dancing and making music.
Amanda Chivers
UMS Uniform Shop Update
Due to the busy period in January and to avoid long waiting times, UMS encourage families to purchase their uniforms in term four 2023.
The uniform shop direct contact number is (07) 2899 5104 or 0466 357 209.
Sharks Volleyball Holiday Pass
Rookies2Reds - GIRLS ON HOLIDAYS CLINIC
YMCA Everleigh - Re-enrolling for 2024 and Summer Vacation Care
Dear Parents & Guardians of YMCA Everleigh
PLEASE READ ALL CAREFULLY - If you have re-enrolled, please see the bottom information highlighted in RED
If you have any questions please email them through and I will endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible. Please note we have well over 200 enrolments to complete and new enrolments and also our assessment and rating that will be happening Monday and Tuesday next week as well as vacation care preparations, so please understand that we are doing our hardest to complete everything in a timely manner.
The process for re-enrolling for 2024 is as follows:
- Follow the instructions on “My Family Lounge How to review enrolment – 2024.pdf” to ensure your enrolment details are up to date and confirm you agree to the 2024 T&C’s
- Once this is done, if you only intend your child to attend casually, please book in via the casual booking app, otherwise for weekly bookings the instructions in “My Family Lounge How to complete Weekly bookings.pdf” will outline the procedure
- Please note: all 2023 permanent bookings will end at the end of this year, a new enrolment & booking must be completed for 2024.
- Please remember the booking process is a three step arrangement, a request sent by the parent, an offer sent by the service, and an acceptance & confirmation by the parent.
- Additionally a 2024 Direct debit form is attached to this email if you have already filled out a 2023 direct debit form it will continue to function, however please ensure that the details are kept up to date.
- If your child has a medical condition, there are additional forms required to be updated annually in consultation with coordinator.
- Once the enrolment form has been completed online, it will need to be printed and signed by guardians. This can be done at home and emailed through or at the service and we can print the enrolment for you to sign.
When your enrolment and bookings have been finalised, you will receive a confirmation email from us.
Please remember the booking process is a three step arrangement, a request sent by the parent, an offer sent by the service, and an acceptance & confirmation by the parent. Please ensure you are following the steps in the attached How to complete bookings QK enrol My family lounge.
VACATION CARE
Vacation Care is fast approaching! Please find attached the program for our holiday program. Our rolls are now open and bookings can be made through the My Family Lounge App. If you cannot access the app please email through your required bookings. No bookings will be taken over the phone.
- We have introduced a new “Vacation Care 10 Hour” option for those needing full care but needing to be mindful of their allocated hours from Centrelink. We will be monitoring this session and ensuring your drop off and collection times stay within the 10 hour timeframe, failing to keep to the timeframe will unfortunately result in the change back to the 12 hour session and you may end up paying full fees if you go over your allocated hours.
Please ensure your child/ren have a full lunch, enclosed shoes, drink bottle and A HAT every day. Morning tea and afternoon tea will be supplied by the service.
Excursions
- We have 2 excursions planned – Daisy Hill Koala Park and Event Cinemas, we have a maximum of 60 spaces available for these excursions.
2024 Enrolments – ensure you have made a 2024 booking
- Just a reminder to also have your 2024 enrolments completed and bookings finalized – The bookings are a 3 step process:-
- Parent to ensure enrolment is completed by clicking “View Enrolment” and answering the new required questions.
- Parent/Guardian then requests bookings/edits current bookings for 2024 through QKEnrol/My Family Lounge webpage NOT the app.
- Everleigh email an offer for the requested days.
- Parent then needs to accept the offer for the bookings to be finalized.
Christmas Closure
- We will be closed over Christmas this year for 2 weeks from 6pm 22.12.23. We reopen 6am 08.01.24.
Prep 2024
- Prep students commencing in 2024 may attend Vacation Care in January from 08.01.24. We cannot accept 2024 preps until this date.
Accounts
- “NO PAY NO PLAY” will be enforced. Families are required to keep their account up to date at all times. Outstanding accounts may have their accounts suspended and bookings removed.
Kristy Daly
Coordinator