Edition 48

Principal's Message

Term 3 Parent Teacher Interviews

A reminder of our Term 3 Parent-Teacher interviews taking place next week. As at 4.50 pm on Thursday, there are 435 bookings.  This means 75% of our students’ parent or carer has booked an appointment, or an average of 17.4 bookings per class.

Booking details were shared via SeeSaw last week for all classes. A reminder to contact your child’s teacher if you are unable to make any of the available times.

Student Free Day – Friday 30 August

Next Friday, 30 August is a Student Free Day. This is not an Everleigh State School elected day, but a mandated statewide Student Free Day. While the school will be closed, YMCA are currently taking bookings should you need care for this day. Please contact them as soon as possible, as bookings will be limited!

Parent/Carer expectations of staff

We are observing an increase in the demands of parents/carers to be available without notice to address issues. As is with a hairdressing appointment, medical appointment, watching a movie, it is an expectation at Everleigh State School that parents/carers arrange a meeting with a relevant staff member.  It is unreasonable and unacceptable to arrive at your child’s classroom or the front office unannounced and demand to speak with someone due to your availability.

Teaching staff are unavailable from 8.30 am until 2.30 pm. Their day consists of teaching and learning, playground duties and meetings. Our teaching staff will always make time to respond to your requests in a timely manner.

In addition to this, Deputy Principals, Head of Special Education Services and I, are out and about in classrooms, attending to support student behaviour, meeting with teachers, and the list goes on. In the likely event an administrator is unavailable to respond to your request after you have addressed your concerns with your child’s teacher or other relevant staff member, we will respond to you at our earliest convenience.

While teaching staff and administrators are also accessible via email and/or SeeSaw, sending emails and messages late at night and expecting a response before the school day starts is very unreasonable.

In 2022, our first year of operation, our school had 280 students by the end of the year. Currently, we have 579 students enrolled. Please keep this in mind when you are needing your concern, query, etc responded to. While we take all concerns seriously and attempt to respond to all issues promptly, there is the need to prioritise some requests over others. This does not mean your request is any less important; there are only so many hours in the day and only a small number of administrators to action the many competing priorities throughout a school day.

Please consider this next time you have a request. We are all working as hard as we can to CARE for our school community.

2025 Enrolments

Our school community to continues to grow! At present, we have 140 Prep enrolments for the 2025 school year! If you have a little person who is starting school next year and you are yet to commence the enrolment process, please contact us as soon as possible.  Mrs Harker and her team are currently finalising our 2025 Prep Start program to ensure a smooth transition for all child to Big School.

If you are leave us at any stage this year, or at the end of the year, can you please contact Executive Services. 2025 staffing and classes are in the early stages of planning.

Our predicted enrolment for 2025 is close to 750 at this stage.

Message From The Head of Special Education Services, Mrs Rhiannon Kemp

Making the Most of Parent-Teacher Interviews: 5 Key Questions to Ask

Parent-teacher interviews are a golden opportunity to support your child’s learning journey. To make the most of this time, focus on these five key questions:

1. How is my child doing academically? Ask for an overview of their performance and areas where they shine or need extra help.
2. What are my child's strengths and challenges? Get specific feedback on subjects or skills where they excel or struggle.
3. How does my child interact with peers and teachers? Understand their social and behavioural dynamics in the classroom.
4. What goals or projects should we be aware of? Find out about upcoming assignments and important targets for the term.
5. How can we best support learning at home? Ask for tips and strategies to reinforce classroom learning in your daily routine.

These questions will help you stay informed and effectively support your child's educational journey.

Preparing Year 6 Students for High School: 5 Essential Tips for Parents

Have you started thinking about high school yet? As Year 6 students approach this exciting milestone, it's important to plan for their transition. The Inclusion team has been actively working with local high schools to enhance their transition programs, and many schools are even offering extra transition days to help students get ready.

We recently had the privilege of visiting Park Ridge State High School, where our students from Everleigh participated in a Digital Technologies lesson and were introduced to the world of Esports! It was an exhilarating experience, especially when our students faced off against Mrs. Kemp in a few video games—where, much to her dismay, she lost three times!

If you’re just beginning to think about your child’s move to high school, here are some key tips to help them (and you) get ready:

1. Start the Conversation Early Talk about high school expectations and what changes to expect. Keeping the conversation positive will help ease any anxiety.
2. Explore the New School Attend open days and information sessions to familiarize your child with their new environment. It makes the first day a lot less intimidating.
3. Encourage Independence Help your child develop strong organizational skills and take responsibility for their own learning. This will build their confidence for high school challenges.
4. Communicate Concerns Moving to High School can be very stressful for some students. If your child is needing additional support, it is a good idea to meet with the key support people at the high school early and talk about your child’s needs and how they can support.
5. Q&A Attend the Parent Teacher Information sessions. Most high school schedule these in Term 4. It is a great opportunity to ask questions and meet other parents/families.

With these tips, you’ll help your child transition smoothly and set them up for a successful high school experience.

Southern Basketball Association

Brisbane Abilities Unleashed Kids

Time & Location

11 Sept 2024, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm AEST

• Southern Basketball Association, 56 Zahel St, Carina QLD 4152, Australia

About The Event

Disability Sports Australia is excited to announce the Brisbane Abilities Unleashed Kids!

Get active with us in a positive and inclusive environment at Southern Basketball Association on Wednesday, 11 September 2024. 

Children aged 5-18 years living with sensory, physical and intellectual disabilities are invited to this free event. Proudly supported by MatchWorks and Brisbane Airport, this one-day multi-sport come and try day encourages and empowers participants to explore local adaptive sport and active recreation opportunities.

How the day will look

Participants will be split into smaller class groups (maximum 20) upon registration. After a welcome at 10 AM, they will rotate across 4-6 stations. These activities will consist of modified sport and active recreation with the use of adaptive equipment to suit the participants. The stations will be facilitated by specialised coaches with the support of students and community organisations.

The formalities of the day will finish at approximately 1:00PM. Participants will need to bring their own snacks and lunch in the breaks.

A detailed run sheet will be provided one week prior to the event.

Places are expected to fill quickly, register today!

https://www.activateinclusion.com.au/events/brisbane-abilities-unleashed-kids

Lego Learners Social Skills Program

Message From The Guidance Officer, Mrs Mel Bashford

Messages From The 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:

1. Via the Q-Parents App – please see reception if you require information on this.
2. 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

With the recent cold weather, we have noticed an increase in toileting accidents. Please ensure you pack a spare change of clothes in your child’s bag just in case. Please include underwear, black shorts/skort/tracksuit pants 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 jackets, hats, lunch boxes, water bottles, etc. We really appreciate your assistance with this. Any item that is labelled gets returned directly to the classroom.

We also ask families to check you have your own jackets and not someone else’s. We have many families waiting for their own labelled items to be returned.

All unclaimed, unnamed items are disposed of or donated at the end of each term.

PBL Focus Weeks 7 & 8 - Accountability - From The PBL Team

LOTE News From Mrs Yoshi

Konnichiwa!

The Year 5/6 students have completed their units on character mascot descriptions and have used both their language skills and design skills to invent new mascots. Congratulations to Lorna Faulkes who won first place in best Japanese mascot design, Tyson Theobald who won 2^nd place and Danika Van Zyl who won 3^rd place out of all of the year 5/6 classes. The level of detail and language used was of a very high standard in all of the classes.

This Semester, the Year 5/6 students will become reporters as they focus on their spoken skills in the lead up to the much anticipated end of year speech contest.

Have a great week!

Yoshi sensei

Message from Everleigh State School P & C - Fathers Day Stall - 28th & 29th August

UMS Uniform Shop News

SHARKS VOLLEYBALL - 4 Day Volleyball Camp

Sharks Volleyball

Calling Volleyball FANATICS!

Sharks Camp September registrations are now open!  

Join us and our team of talented coaches for a four-day volleyball camp designed to cater to athletes of all skill levels. The camp includes opportunities for new players to find a love for the sport and pathways for elite development for experienced players looking to get into club and state-level teams.

Camp Details

The Dates:
24th Sept | 25th Sept | 26th Sept | 27th Sept

Location: 

Brisbane - Mansfield, 4122

Gold Coast - Southport, 4215

Sunshine Coast - Little Mountain, 4551

Age Group:

Grade 4 - 12 students

Time:

9.00am to 4.30pm!

What's included:
You get an exclusive Camp T-shirt and water bottle and are trained by state and national level representatives!

Check out our website for more information! 
https://sharksvolleyball.com/landing-page-sharks-camp-qld

Sharks Volleyball

Tailored Coaching Solutions.