Edition 57

Principal's Message

 Students and teachers are well into this term’s units of work. All classrooms at Everleigh State School have Learning Walls and Bump It Up Walls. These ‘walls’, particularly for English and Mathematics, assist students to know what it is they are learning to know and do and how they can improve.  During planning sessions held at the end of Term 4, teachers created a ‘C’ sample of work based on the Term 1 English Unit. This sample is used by teachers to assist students to understand what they need to know and do to achieve a ‘C’. Students and teachers then work together to ‘bump up’ this piece of work to assist students in knowing what they need to know and do for a ‘B’ or an ‘A’. 

Students have an opportunity to place their work on the Bump It Wall to ascertain how well they are going. Students do not have to be achieving an ‘A’, ‘B’, or ‘C’ to place their work on the wall. Students who are not yet achieving at a ‘C’ are able to see the small improvements needed to move beyond a ‘D’ to a ‘C’.

You can support your child’s learning by asking them the following ‘5 Learning Questions for Students’:

1. What are you learning? Why?
2. How are you going?
3. How do you know?
4. How can you improve?
5. Where can you go for help?

Term 1 Parent-Teacher Interviews

Schools are required to report to parents both formally and informally. At Everleigh State School, informal reporting to parents and carers occurs towards the end of Terms 1 and 3 in the form of Parent-Teacher interviews.

This term, Parent-Teacher interviews, as per our Term 1 Calendar of Events, in week 9. Very soon, a link will be sent out, along with instructions, via SeeSaw to allow you to book an interview with your child’s teacher on Wednesday 26 March from 2.45 pm. Interviews are 10 minutes in duration and occur in our school Hall. 

Please ensure you take the time to book in a time to meet with your child’s teacher to discuss their progress to date.

Late arrivals and early departures

There is an increasing number of students who are arriving to school late. Some instances are out of your control, such as traffic incidents; however, there are some students who arrive late to school every day without good reason. Our school day commences at 8.30 am. It is important students arrive on time to ensure a settled start to their school day.

Similarly, there are parents/carers who are calling the office between 2.00 and 2.15 pm to collect students before 2.30 pm. I was in the main office this week and there were no less than 10 phone calls either requesting students be brought to the office for collection after 2.15 pm and before 2.30 pm, or messages about changes to pick up arrangements. These late calls create a great deal of undue stress on our already busy administration staff.

In the unusual event your child needs to be collected early, please provide as much as possible.

It is the expectation students arrive at school on time and remain at school for the entire school day.

Uniforms

A reminder to please ensure sports shirts are only to be worn on a Friday. If your child does not yet have the formal school shirt, please contact the uniform shop.

Playgrounds

It is almost a daily occurrence of staff having to remind parents/carers that our playgrounds are OUT OF BOUNDS to all children and students (unless under the care and supervision of YMCA) before and after school. Again, please respect the directions from our staff.

Safe use of carparks and drop off/pick up zones

There are three (3) staff members rostered on duty at both pick up zones of an afternoon. Unfortunately, the staff at the Kangaroo pick up zone are constantly needing to request cars be moved from the 2-minute zone. These staff members, who are only doing their job to keep our students safe, are often abused by members of our community. This behaviour will not be tolerated and offenders will be reminded of our code of conduct. Should such behaviour continue from individuals, action will be taken to restrict access to our school.

The number of carparks is beyond my control. Our school meets the minimum requirements needed for onsite parking. There is sufficient street parking should there be the need to park and collect your child.

This week, a carer who should have been able to use a disabled carpark to collect one of their students with mobility issues was not able to, as carparks were occupied illegally being vehicles without the appropriate permits. When I politely reminded one of our parents of this road rule, I was met with a disrespectful reply. Number plates of offending cars will be taken and reported directly to the police, as this is a traffic violation.

Details on disability parking rules and how to report offenders can be found here.

https://www.qld.gov.au/disability/out-and-about/travel-transport/driving/parking-permits/disability-parking-permits#:~:text=You%20can%20use%20your%20Australian,is%2030%20minutes%20or%20more

Deputy Principals' Message

Student Leadership Parade
This week, we held our Student Leadership Parade to recognize and present badges to our student leaders. Student leadership at Everleigh State School is about service and ensuring student voice is heard in our community. Our leaders will also organise fundraising events to support the school. It was wonderful to see parents join us in celebrating this achievement. Each student had to show courage to nominate for these roles and will work hard this year to further enhance our school culture of CARE. Congratulations to all the students and their families!

Learning, Bump It Up Walls, and the 5 Learning Questions for Parents
In every classroom at Everleigh State School, we use “Learning Walls” and "Bump It Up Walls" to co-construct learning. These visual tools help students track their progress and understand how to improve. They display different levels of achievement, showing students where they are and how to move forward. Parents can support this by encouraging children to discuss their learning goals and celebrate milestones. Additionally, the 5 Learning Questions can help guide deeper thinking at home:

1. What did you learn today?
2. How did you do?
3. What did you do if you didn’t understand?
4. How can you improve on your learning?
5. What are you most proud of?

By discussing these questions, parents can help reinforce learning and encourage independent growth.

The Celebration Policy
To ensure safety, inclusivity, and the continuity of our educational programs, we have developed an Everleigh State School Celebration Policy. This policy can be found on our school website and provides guidelines for sharing food in classrooms. Parents should consult with teachers before organizing any food items. Only store-bought treats with clearly labelled ingredients and allergens are permitted each classroom has a designated zone that indicates what foods can be shared.

Reminder to keep toys at home

We kindly remind all families that toys should not be brought to school. While we understand that children may want to share their favourite toys, they can be distracting and sometimes lead to conflicts during the school day. Please ensure that your child leaves their toys at home, so they can focus on their learning and enjoy their time at school. Thank you for your support in maintaining a focused and respectful learning environment!

No Hat = No Play

Thank you for ensuring your child/s hat is labelled with their name. This makes it easier to identify when it goes missing. A reminder, and to keep you informed, if students have no hat, they are required to sit in the undercover area.

Teneale Harker

P-2 Deputy

Message From The Executive Services

Important information regarding school attendance

Parent’s responsibilities – it is the parent or carer’s responsibility to ensure the following:

• ensure their child arrives at school on time and attends their educational program every school day
• provide their current contact details to the school to enable effective notification
• contact the school either before or on the day of an absence, or as soon as practicable, in accordance with the school's communication processes and provide an explanation for each absence
• notify the school if their child will be arriving late or leaving early
• ensure their child follows the school’s processes and procedures for late arrival and early departure.

Late arrivals – it is expected that students arrive before class begins at 8:30am. Once the school gates are closed (approx 8:45am) students arriving late should be escorted into school via the office by a parent or carer who must give a reason for the late arrival.

Where late arrivals are persistent and regular, principals should discuss the situation with the parent to determine if additional supports and/or strategies are required to strengthen engagement and improve attendance.

Early departures – it is expected that students remain at school for the length of the school day. Parents are encouraged to ensure their child misses as little school as possible.

Early departures should only be requested for reasons deemed reasonable. Routine appointments such as doctor or dentist should be made for outside school hours.

Early departures should be advised ahead of time, so as to ensure minimal interruption to class learning. (Please do not pre-advise an early departure via the QParents app as this causes a system glitch) Please phone the school office to request an early departure if necessary.

As classroom areas are out-of-bounds during lunch breaks, early departures during breaks that are not advised ahead of time will need to wait until the end of the break when students are permitted to access and collect their school bags.

Absences – school absenteeism and truancy can impact significantly on students' learning and wellbeing. Research shows that in Queensland, higher student attendance is associated, on average, with higher student achievement. Additionally, attending school every day helps children to build social and emotional skills such as communication, teamwork and resilience.

Under the law, you must make sure your child attends school on all school days unless there is a reasonable excuse. Schools must monitor attendance of students and follow up with parents and caregivers any unexplained absences.

It is expected that the school is notified of a student absence before 9am on the day of the absence, where possible. Our preferred method is via the QParents app. Please contact the office if you require assistance to set up the QParents app. Alternatively you may phone the Student Absence Line on    (07) 2899 5160, where you may leave a message anytime of the day or night.

Absence for Family reasons – When the student is absent due to family circumstances beyond the influence of the student. Parents should be encouraged to ensure their child misses as little school as possible. Where these absences are persistent and regular, principals should discuss the situation with the parent and/or student to determine if additional supports and/or strategies are required to strengthen engagement and improve attendance.

• Moving house
• Transport issues
• Family member is ill or in hospital

Absence for Holiday - Holidays during the school term are discouraged. If the absence is for more than 10 consecutive days, an application for exemption form should be completed.

Unauthorised absences – When an excuse given for a student absence is deemed as unreasonable by the principal it will be recorded as an unauthorized absence. This includes:

• Leisure activities
• Shopping
• Visiting friends and relatives
• Celebrating birthdays
• Fishing
• Truancy
• Any other reason for absence that the principal does not consider to be reasonable

Where absences are persistent and regular, principals should discuss the situation with the parent to determine if additional supports and/or strategies are required to strengthen engagement and improve attendance.

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 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.

All previously unclaimed and unnamed school jackets have been given to our guidance officer to distribute to families in need. If you believe you have lost an unnamed jacket, please advise as soon as possible.

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

Please see attached photos of current lost property items.

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 and view report cards. 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.

Message From The Head Of Department - Curriculum, Ms. Tanya Conway

Naplan Information for Year 3 & 5 Families

Everleigh State School will be completing Naplan from Wednesday 12^th March to Wednesday 19^th March 2025. Naplan assesses your child’s literacy and numeracy skills and provides valuable insights into their learning progress. Encouraging your child to do their best on the day is the best preparation. Below, is our anticipated timetable during the National Naplan testing window.

The Night Before Naplan:

💤 Prioritise a good night's sleep

🍽️ Provide a nutritious dinner

💬 Offer words of encouragement

🎶 Create a calm environment

🎯 Focus on what they can control – reassure them to just try their best.

👜 Pack their bag together

🤗 Give lots of hugs and reassurance.

The morning of Naplan:

⏰ Start the day with a relaxed, positive vibe

🍳 Serve a healthy breakfast

🚫 Keep things light – no pressure talks about the test.

🎶 Play uplifting music

🏃‍♂️ Encourage movement – a little stretching or a short walk to shake off nerves.

💖 Reassure them one last time – “You’ve got this, and I’m proud of you no matter what.”

✨ Send them off with a smile and a hug!

Harmony Week

This week, information was sent out via SeeSaw about Harmony Week and our special Harmony Day parade.

Our Cultural Committee is excited to announce our inaugural Harmony Week Photography Competition to honour and embrace the rich cultural diversity within our community. Students, families, and staff…dust off your camera, iPad, iPhone and get ready to capture an image that represents diversity with the theme of ‘Everyone Belongs.’

Families are invited to join the fun by wearing traditional cultural dress or something orange as we celebrate the incredible diversity that makes our community so strong and vibrant!

Message From The Head Of Special Education Services, Mr Josh Newby

Message From The Guidance Officer, Mrs Mel Bashford

Words of Wellbeing: Benefits of Natural Light!

Did you know that exposure to natural light is essential for good mental health?  Research has found that workers in offices with windows received more natural light and had better sleep quality, higher physical activity levels, and lower stress levels than workers in windowless offices.

Natural light reduces symptoms of depression in patients with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression related to changes in seasons and daylight.

How does it help your mental health?

Just 30 to 45 minutes of direct natural light a day should help with:

• Exposure to vitamin D – impacts blood brain function, including mood and cognition. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to an increased risk for mood disorders – including depression, seasonal affective disorder and severe mood problems experienced during PMS, insomnia, and anxiety
• Increased production of serotonin which is a chemical in our brain that controls mood and happiness. Low levels of serotonin have been linked to anxiety and depression.
• Increased production of melatonin – helps regulates our circadian rhythm, resulting in better sleep.

Top tips to light up your life:

• Sit next to a window
• Go for a morning walk or exercise outdoors
• Work outside if you can
• Plan outdoor social activities
• Just stand or lie outside for a bit – even if it just for 5 minutes and in your pyjamas!

Have a bright week,

Mel

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