Edition 58

Principal's Message

What a very interesting week we have had! Who would have thought we would be talking about the effects of a tropical cyclone in South East Queensland?!

I would like to thank our community for the support during this trying period. Thank you also for your understanding with the brief turnaround from stating school would be closed on Wednesday to be opening within a matter of hours as a result of the wonderful work by Energex to have power restored to our local area.

Our school was spared any major damage. Power was turned off prior to leaving the school on Wednesday afternoon in the event we did have power surges or power loss during the weather event. Once power was restored, Mr Elliott and I turned on all power sources Tuesday afternoon in preparation for Wednesday morning.

There was a water leak in one of the rooms in the Hall used by YMCA, resulting in a ceiling panel being water damaged. This underwent a safety check on Tuesday afternoon, with repairs carried out on Wednesday morning. YMCA did not access this room on Wednesday morning as a precaution. The plumber who attended was unable to find any internal or external damage, reporting it was most likely due to the ridiculous amount of heavy rain we received in such a short period of time. The ceiling panel was replaced and the room is safe for YMCA to resume usage.

There were many smiling faces – parents, students and staff – when returning to school on Wednesday. We had an attendance rate of 76%. Great effort given the number of families impacted by the power outage and short turnaround with impacts to our local supermarket supplies.

This last week has certainly shown the CARE-ing nature of our community. It is a privilege to work here!

A special thank you to Mrs Teneale Harker (Deputy Principal, Prep – Year 2), Mr Mark Waugh (Deputy Principal, Year 3 – Year 6), Mr Josh Newby (Head of Special Education Services), Ms Tanya Conway (Head of Department – Curriculum), Mrs Robyn Gardener (Business Manager) and Anthony Elliott (Schools Officer) for their commitment to our school community during this weather event. Each of them, despite challenges of their own – no power or internet, caring for young families, etc – checked in with their teams on a daily basis. Their support was invaluable to ensure our staff were ready to go when we were able to reopen.

Term 1 Parent-Teacher interviews

It is now business as usual for the remainder of the term. A reminder of the information shared via SeeSaw for Parent-Teacher interviews on Wednesday 26 March from 2.45 pm in the school Hall. The link for booking interviews was posted to Seesaw on Monday 3 March. Bookings close at 10.00 pm on Monday 24 March.

2025 Everleigh State School P&C Executive

On Monday 3 March, our P&C held their Annual General Meeting. It was wonderful to see some fresh faces at this meeting. I am pleased to announce our 2025 P&C Executive”

President: Mr Ben Hawkins

Vice President: Mr Russell Watt

Secretary: Mrs Eliza Rees

Treasurer: Mrs Laura Gray

Congratulations and thank you to these parents and community members for taking on these roles.

The next general meeting will take place on Monday 31 March in the Resource Centre at 6.00 pm.

NAPLAN for Year 3 and Year 5 students

The impact of the weather event has resulted in NAPLAN now commencing from Monday 17 March. This decision was made due to the power outage and give time for staff and students to settle back into the school routine.

At Everleigh State School, NAPLAN is just another school day. There is no emphasis on the ‘testing’. As with any other school day, we just expect students to do their personal best. The information from this form of testing provides the school with a bigger picture of how well we are teaching aspects of the Australian Curriculum to ensure we are doing the best we can for our students.

Term 1 attendance to date

Prior to the weather event, we have maintained an attendance rate of 92.1%. Unfortunately, there are still a number of students arriving to school late on a regular basis or leaving early with no valid reason. These late arrivals and early departures create unnecessary work for our Administration Officers. When students are collected early without notice, then Miss Carol, Miss Kylie and Miss Marina are having to interrupt learning and make whole school announcements to locate students. Reasons such as to avoid the traffic or for convenience are not valid reasons for students to leave school early and are being recorded as ‘Unauthorised’.

It is an expectation that students attend school for the whole day. We would love to see students at school every day; however, we also understand that illness and unexpected events happen. All student absences must be explained. This is not an Everleigh State School rule, but a departmental expectation. Please visit https://education.qld.gov.au/initiatives-and-strategies/initiatives/every-day-counts/for-parents-and-community for information on the importance of regular school attendance.

Attendance data from the beginning of Term 1 through until Wednesday 5 March are as follows:

Deputy Principals' Messages

Easter Parade:

On Friday the 4th of April our Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students will participate in our Easter Concert and Hat Parade. The students will create easter hats and decorate these in class with their teachers. The event will commence at 8:50 am and parents and caregivers are invited to attend. We “hop” to see “every-bunny” there!

Reminder to keep toys at home

We kindly remind all families that toys should not be brought to school. We are still seeing these brought in despite this messaging. We understand that children may want to share their favourite toys, however, 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!

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

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

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

PBL Focus Weeks 8 & 9 - "RESPECT" - From the PBL Team

Music Notes With Mrs Chivers

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