Everleigh State School eNewsletter

Principal's Message

2024 Annual Implementation Plan

Each year, schools develop an Annual Implementation Plan (AIP). An AIP outline the explicit work we will engage in as a school to make improvements in key areas.

The Department of Education’s Strategic Plan is focus on three (3) key priorities of Educational Achievement, Engagement and Wellbeing, and Culture and Inclusion. The same three (3) priority areas drive the AIP, or Explicit Improvement Agenda for Everleigh State School.

Our 2024 focus is as follows:

Educational Achievement: Improve the quality of instructional leadership and teaching across the school by enhancing staff expertise in the implementation of curriculum and agreed pedagogical approaches and practices.

Wellbeing and Engagement: Foster a strong sense of community through the implementation of strategies that encourage positive student behaviour, and the development of social and emotional skills.

Culture and Inclusion: CARE for our diverse community to ensure all staff and students flourish in an inclusive learning environment.

Below is a visual snapshot of our Explicit Improvement Agenda. The full AIP will be presented at our next P&C meeting. If you would like more information on our AIP for 2024, please contact me.

Parent/Carer afternoon waiting areas

Parents and carers are reminded yet again of appropriate waiting areas, away from classrooms of an afternoon. It is extremely difficult for students to remain focused and on task when parents/carers are looking and waving through windows. It is also unfair and unnerving for our teaching staff to feel they are being ‘watched’ through the windows. Please show respect to the learning environments and remain in the dedicated waiting areas until the bell rings at 2.30 pm.

At present, our gates remaining closed until 2.15 pm. If we continue to have parents/carers not waiting in the appropriate areas, the gates will remain closed until 2.25 pm. Please consider how our staff are feeling when they have the eyes of parents/carers looking through doors and windows. I am sure if it was the other way round and someone was watching you at work without your permission, you would not feel comfortable.

Please be respectful of our school processes and procedures and refrain from standing directly outside of classrooms until the bell rings at 2.30 pm.

Before school, parents/carers are more than welcome to wait outside of ground floor classrooms until the music starts at around 8.25 am. At this time, it is important that parents say their quick farewells and allow teaching and learning to commence at 8.30 am.

A reminder that all playgrounds and play equipment are out of bounds before and after school.

Drop off and Pick up in Kangaroo Zone

I popped out to the Kangaroo drop off zone for three (3) mornings last week. Thank you to the majority of parents/carers who are adhering to the 2-minute signage.

The afternoon pick up seems to be running smoothly for the most part. Thank you again for those of you who are being respectful of other drivers and waiting patiently.

A reminder that there should only be a SINGLE LANE of traffic entering the carpark. Please be courteous and respectful of other drivers and our children when entering the carpark or Stop, Drop and Go lanes. Drivers are expected to remain in line and not overtake other drivers to find a spot closer to the front of the school.

A HUGE thank you to those families who are using the Visor Cards at both pick up points of an afternoon this helps our staff and students greatly.

Platypus drop off / pick up

DID YOU KNOW if you continue travelling up Anderson Drive (towards the newer blocks and Teviot Road), Everleigh Drive can be accessed via Guroman Drive? I will endeavour to capture dashcam footage and share with you. Turning left upon exit will get you to Everleigh Drive faster and alleviate the traffic jam along Ivory Parkway and exiting Kangaroo carpark. I encourage all drivers using the Platypus drop off/pick up, or parking along Anderson Drive to utilise access to Everleigh Drive via Guroman Drive. Unfortunately, google maps is not yet capturing the connection between Guroman and Anderson Drives.

Eventually, exit from the Platypus pick up will be a left hand turn only, up Anderson Drive in the direction of Teviot Road. Access to Teviot Road from Anderson Drive is expected to open later this year.

Every day counts!

It is important that students attend every school day for the whole school day where possible. Arriving on time is also important, as it reduces any anxiety students may feel walking into the classroom after every one else has arrived. There are a number of students who are arriving to school late on a regular basis.

If you are experiencing difficulty in getting your child to school on time, please contact us for support.

We continue to see a large number of students being collected early on Friday afternoons. Our school day starts at 8.30 am and finishes at 2.30 pm Monday to Friday. Friday is not an optional full or half day of the week. Miss Marina and Miss Carol spend most of their Friday afternoons calling for students to be collected early, with some excuses being ‘I couldn’t be bothered waiting until 2.30’ or ‘I was on my way home’. These are not reasonable excuses to collect students early.

Some parents/carers are then extremely impatient, expecting our wonderful Admin Officers to drop everything to locate students out of pure convenience.

Please be respectful of both the hours of our school day and work that Miss Marina and Miss Carol do in addition to finding children for early departure because it is convenient.

Our attendance rate from Monday 5 February until Friday 16 February is 92.3%

Our year-to-date attendance is 93.0%

Statistics of attendance for period Monday 5 February until Friday 16 February

Year Level	Attendance Rate	↑ ↓ from last fortnight	Unexplained Absences	Late arrivals*	Early Departures#
Prep	92.9	↓	2	45	15
Year 1	93.1	↑	2	73	25
Year 2	92.9	↑	5	68	23
Year 3	90.8	↓	7	66	12
Year 4	93.3	↑	0	22	18
Year 5	88.3	↓	6	53	19
Year 6	92.6	↑	2	48	20
Total	92.3	↓	19	375	132

*Daily average of Late Arrivals – 37.5. This is the number of students, on average, Miss Marina and Miss Carol need to sign in late.

#Daily average of Early Departures – 13.2.

On Friday 9 February, 17 students were collected early. This makes up for 13% of the fortnightly early departures.
On Friday 16 February, 32 students were collected early! This makes up for 24% of the fortnightly early departures.

We will continue monitoring attendance and we will be contacting families where there is a pattern of absences, including late arrivals and early departures.

A copy of our Attendance Policy can be located on our website. Additionally, please visit https://ppr.qed.qld.gov.au/pp/managing-student-absences-and-enforcing-enrolment-and-attendance-at-state-schools-procedure for more information on the department’s policy and procedure related to student attendance at state schools.

2024 Everleigh State School P&C Annual General Meeting

On Monday, 4 March our P&C AGM will be held in the Resource Centre from 6.00 pm. Our P&C is vital in assisting in the coordination of events such as discos, colour run, Mothers’ and Fathers’ Day activities and other fundraising activities to support the school to offer the best possible facilities and resources for our school. Please come along to join as a general member and contribute to our great school community and/or nominate to be on the P&C executive.

If you are interested in running for an executive position, please contact me for a copy of the nomination forms.

2024 Explicit Improvement Agenda

2024_Explict_Improvement_Agenda.pdf

Deputy Principals' Message

Student Leadership Induction

On Tuesday February 13^th, our student leadership group for 2024 was inducted into their leadership roles. Our captains so far have demonstrated enthusiasm in their roles and have been role models for other students across the school.

Our school captains for 2024 are Lexie and Peppar. They have so far been leading our parades wonderfully and are excited for their roles on student council as they are elected.

Our house captains are:

Beek: Chase (C) and Mickie (VC)

Chagun: Riley (C) and Cameron (VC)

Dharbil: Emily (C) and Justin (VC)

Yarga: Lilly (C) and Mira (VC)

We are excited for their journey ahead.

Classroom Leaders

Classroom Leaders will be presented with their badges in Week 7 at our regularly scheduled parade. Students earning their Student Councillor badges and Digital Leaders badges will have their parents contacted by classroom teachers.

Online Consents for Students

An email was sent recently requesting parents to grant permission for students to access a range of apps on iPads. This has been sent as our list of apps that are used has been updated. This should have been sent through email and on QParents. Please contact the school for a hard copy if you have not set up QParents or ask for support in setting up QParents.

NAPLAN Online

NAPLAN Online will occur from Wednesday March 13 until Monday March 25. During this time, students in Year 3 will complete a handwritten assessment for writing before completing the Conventions of Language, Reading and Numeracy tests online. Year 5 students will complete all assessments online using their iPad. Please see the attached information and for any other questions, please contact Executive Services.

naplan_information_brochure_for_parents_and_carers_1_.pdf

PBL Focus Weeks 5 & 6 - Encouragement - From The PBL Team

Term One - Parent /Teacher Interviews

Parent Teacher Interviews will be held in the Hall on Thursday 21 March from 2.50 pm – 7.30 pm. Parents/Carers will be able to book in for a 10-minute interview with their child’s teacher via an online booking system. Bookings will open on Monday 26 February and close on Monday 18 March at 8.30 am.

The link to make an online booking will be sent via SeeSaw.

Message From The Head of Special Education Services (HoSES)

Parental Support

Parenting is an incredible journey, but it's not without its challenges. In today's fast-paced world, it's natural to seek support and guidance along the way. That's why we're here to share some valuable resources aimed at making your parenting journey a little smoother.

Support Resources:

Oneplace: Oneplace is an online community services directory designed to assist Queenslanders in finding local support easily.

Talking Families: The Talking Families website offers a plethora of useful tips, tricks, and resources tailored to support parents with children of all ages.

Raising Children Network: Raising Children Network provides ad-free parenting videos, articles, and apps, all backed by Australian experts.

Triple P Positive Parenting Program: The Triple P Positive Parenting Program is a valuable resource for parents seeking effective parenting strategies and support.

Navigating NAPLAN:

Week 8 is coming up and time for the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) annual assessment, here's what you need to know:

What is NAPLAN? NAPLAN tests essential skills such as reading, writing, spelling, grammar, and numeracy. These skills are developed over time through the school curriculum.

The Four Domains of NAPLAN:

Writing
Language conventions (spelling, grammar, and punctuation)
Reading
Numeracy

Supporting Your Child: As parents, we play a crucial role in supporting our children through the NAPLAN process. Here are some tips to help your child prepare:

Take cues from your child: If your child isn't worried, try not to create unnecessary stress. Focus on maintaining a positive outlook.

Emphasize effort over results: Encourage your child to try their best without putting undue pressure on achieving certain outcomes.

Listen to their concerns: Validate your child's feelings and offer reassurance. Use this as an opportunity to teach emotional intelligence.

Teach relaxation techniques: Help your child manage anxiety with simple relaxation strategies like deep breathing or exercise.

Keep perspective: Remind your child that NAPLAN is just one aspect of their education journey. Encourage them to maintain a balanced perspective.

Helpful Links:

Insight into the student experience during NAPLAN Online

Public demonstration site for familiarizing with test questions

For more information and sample tests, visit www.nap.edu.au If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child's classroom teacher.

Remember, you're not alone on this journey. Together, we can support our children and help them thrive!

Messages From Executive Services

Student Absence Procedure

If your student will be absent, parents/carers have a legal obligation to notify the school office, including advising the reason for the absence. We kindly request you let us know by 9am on the day of the absence. We have two preferred methods for advising absence:

Via the Q-Parents App – please see reception if you require information on this.
Via our dedicated Student Absence Line – (07) 2899 5160, where you can leave a message any time of the day or night. Please save this number in your phone.

Reminder: You will also need to advise YMCA if your child is booked in and will be absent.

YMCA absences should be advised before 2:15pm via email aev@ymcabrisbane.org or via text or phone call 0459 905 087.

Don’t forget to also cancel your canteen order if you have pre-ordered ahead: (07) 2899 5125

Change of contact details:

Please advise Executive Services if any of your details have changed. For example:

Address
Best contact phone number
Work details
Emergency contacts other than parents/carers

Please pop into the office to complete a change of details form, or email admin@everleighss.eq.edu.au to update your details.

Spare change of clothes reminder

Please ensure you have a spare change of clothes in your child’s bag in case of accidents. Please include underwear, black shorts/skort and socks.

Lost property

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.

Have you lost an Everleigh hat or jacket? We have some unnamed items at the office.

Any item that is labelled gets returned directly to the classroom. We only hold unnamed Everleigh uniform items at the office. Please let us know if you are missing a non-labelled item.

Q Parents

We remind all parents and carers to set up their Q Parents app. This app is our preferred option and is a one-stop location to check on your account or pay invoices, as well as to report absences. It is quick and easy to use. The app will follow your child to any state school all the way through, including to high school. If you require any assistance to set this up, please contact executive services.

QParents_registration_quick_reference_guide.pdf

"Start Strong At Your Local State School"

You may see this message displayed on digital signs across other local state schools this week. It is part of the advocacy work of the school leader professional association called QASSP (the Queensland Association of State School Principals). The Association represents the 345,000 state primary school students in this state.

This message is intended to convey is that the early years of your child's schooling lay the foundation that will shape not only their academic abilities, but also the social and emotional skills they will need. Starting strong sets the stage for future success in school and beyond. Within our state schools we strive to provide supportive environments where every child and their family can feel a sense of belonging and connection, supported by a vibrant school community.