Everleigh State School eNewsletter

Principal's Message

As you would be aware, members of the Queensland Teachers’ Union are participating in protected industrial action on Wednesday 6 August. I am unable to confirm how many teaching staff are taking part in this action; however, rest assure that there will staff available to supervise students on Wednesday.

Term 3 Parent-Teacher Interviews

Parent-Teacher interviews will take place on Wednesday 3 September in our school hall from 2.45 pm. This is an opportunity to meet and discuss your child’s progress with his/her teacher. The link to book an interview will be shared via SeeSaw next week. Please take this opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher.

In the event, there are no suitable times available, please contact your child’s teacher to arrange a mutually agreeable time.

2025 Everleigh State School Musical

We are holding our very first school musical later this term! I would like to thank the small group of staff – Mrs Amanda Chivers, Ms Elicia Jenkins, Mrs Jessica Mylett, Mr Damion Douglass, Mrs Candice Moodley, Mrs Nikki Chalmers, Miss Lauren King, Mrs Deb Hanson and Mrs Monic Lau-Hamilton – who are spending a great deal of time preparing for this wonderful event.

There are two (2) shows: Thursday 11 September at 6.00 pm, and Friday 12 September 12.00 noon.

A full dress rehearsal will take place for students on Thursday 11 September.

If your child is involved in this event, please support them to learn their lines and any songs they are singing. The cast and crew are involved in weekly practices on Friday afternoon. It is important students involved are in attendance and prepared for this upcoming event.

If you would like to purchase tickets, please do so using the following links:

Thursday 11 September https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/everleigh-state-school-presents-quest-a-new-adventure-in-fantasyland-tickets-1490002380229?aff=oddtdtcreator

Friday 12 https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/everleigh-state-school-presents-quest-a-new-adventure-in-fantasyland-tickets-1490252929629?aff=oddtdtcreator

To date, there are only 51 tickets sold across both shows.

Student Behaviour when travelling on school buses

I have had to address inappropriate and unsafe behaviour of a number of students who travel to and/or from school via bus. This behaviour extends from loud voices to moving around the bus whilst moving, inappropriate language directed at other students and the bus driver, and physical aggression.

On Thursday afternoon, I spoke to all students who were waiting for their bus about safe and appropriate behaviour when travelling on the school bus. I was informed very sadly that Everleigh State School has a very poor reputation amongst the local bus drivers. This is appalling, disappointing and embarrassing. If such behaviour continues, will ensure appropriate consequences are given to students, as this is unacceptable and tarnishes the reputation of the school.

When applying for a bus pass, parents/carers and students agree to uphold the Code of Conduct for bus travel. If your child uses one of our bus runs, please ensure you take the time to review this code of conduct.

https://translink.com.au/travel-with-us/school-travel/code-of-conduct

I do not wish to be placed in a position where I make phone calls to parents about a serious accident due to students behaving unsafely.

Our students know our school expectations when at school. These same expectations apply when wearing our school uniform in public. I appreciate your support in reinforcing this with your child.

Appropriate use of social media

In the past couple of weeks, we have had to manage inappropriate social media use with students and parents/carers.

I would like to remind you of our Parent/Carer Code of Conduct (attached below) in relation to posting and/or commenting regarding our school, in both public and private forums. It is not appropriate to raise issues regarding our school. If you have questions or concerns, your first point of contact is your child’s teacher. In the event he/she cannot assist, please contact the office or relevant Deputy Principal.

Mr Morley, unfortunately, has had to manage inappropriate use of social media with a number of senior students. This has resulted in significant consequences for a number of students. Please ensure you read Mr Morley’s article below on how to support your child in engaging appropriately online.

Deputy Principals' Message

Inappropriate Use of Digital Devices

As we begin Term 3, I want to take a moment to address a serious and ongoing concern regarding the inappropriate use of digital devices by a small number of students.

The leadership team has been made aware of incidents involving inappropriate online communication. While these interactions occurred on personal devices and outside of school hours, the content has had a significant impact on student wellbeing and the good order and management of our school community.

The behaviour involved the use of messaging apps with age restrictions above the age of those involved, and included bullying behaviours and inappropriate comments directed at, or about, other students.

I want to acknowledge the proactive and supportive actions taken by families. With guidance from both home and school, we are confident that the students involved are receiving the support they need and are learning valuable lessons about online responsibility and respect.

We understand that our children are growing up in a digitally connected world, and while technology offers many opportunities, it also presents real risks. As educators and caregivers, we share the responsibility of teaching our young people how to use digital platforms safely, respectfully and legally.

In response to this, the school is implementing a number of proactive strategies this term:

All Year 5 and 6 classes will take part in a structured series of lessons focused on safe online behaviour, respectful communication, and digital responsibility.
We will be hosting student sessions with the eSafety Commissioner as well as Queensland Police, who will speak to students about appropriate online use and the risks associated with certain platforms and behaviours.

Students who engage in harmful or inappropriate online behaviour — whether at school or outside of school hours — may face disciplinary action under the Student Code of Conduct. This may include suspension from school.

We urge all parents and carers to take an active role in monitoring their child’s online use, regularly check messaging apps and group chats, and speak openly with your child about digital safety. Many apps accessed by students have a minimum age requirement of 12 or 13 years — these restrictions exist for a reason.

For further guidance, I strongly encourage families to visit www.esafety.gov.au. This website provides practical tips, videos, and advice for supporting safe and respectful online behaviour, as well as ways to report concerning content or interactions.

E Scooter Bike Laws

Messages From The Executive Services

Year 6 High School Enrolment Packs

For parents & carers of our Year six students, we have enrolment packs for Park Ridge State High School and Flagstone Community College available at our school office. Please feel free to pop in and collect one if needed.

Attendance Data Collection

Attendance data for Semester 1 2025 will be extracted by Central Office on Friday 22^nd August. It is important that any outstanding unexplained absences are updated.

We remind parents/carers to ensure absences are notified by 9am on the day of the absence, to avoid creating an unexplained absence.

If you receive an unexplained absence sms we kindly ask you to respond on the same day.

Student Absence Procedure

If your student will be absent, parents/carers have a legal obligation to notify the school, 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

Spare change of clothes reminder

With the colder weather, students are experiencing more toileting accidents. Please ensure you have a spare change of clothes in your child’s bag just in case. Please include underwear, black shorts/skort/pants and socks.

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 use the QParents app, or you can pop into the office to complete a change of details form, or email admin@everleighss.eq.edu.au to update your details.

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, jackets, lunch boxes, water bottles, etc. We really appreciate your assistance with this. Any lost item that is labelled is 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.

Q Parents - Registration

Q Parents

We remind all parents and carers to set up their Q Parents app. It is a simple way to quickly access and keep on top of all our services, such as:

Attendance/absences
Report cards
Consent forms
View outstanding invoices
Pay invoices
Update contact details

If you require any assistance to set this up, please contact executive services.

Message From The Head of Department - Curriculum, Ms Tanya Conway

NAIDOC Parade: A Celebration of Culture, Strength, and Legacy

During Week 2, Everleigh State School came alive with colour, pride, and community spirit as we celebrated NAIDOC Week 2025 with a wonderfully engaging NAIDOC Parade. This year’s theme, “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy,” honoured 50 years of Indigenous voices, culture, and resilience, providing a powerful backdrop to reflect, learn, and celebrate together.

We were privileged to host several special guests who made the occasion even more meaningful. Miss Stacie Fogarty, our Regional Community Education Counsellor (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Services Partnerships & Programs), joined us for the day, along with Ms Charlene Russo from Beyond Broncos and the incredibly talented dancers from Flagstone State Secondary College. Their presence brought joy, inspiration, and cultural connection to our event.

Students proudly showcased the beautiful artwork they created in preparation for our Cultural Hub, an exciting new space that will be officially unveiled during NAIDOC Week 2026. These pieces, rich in symbolism and expression, reflect students’ deepening understanding and appreciation of the world’s oldest continuous living culture. Thank you, Mrs Sarah Bailey, Prep Teacher and Indigenous Champion at Everleigh State School, for organising such a beautiful showcase of the artwork.

In addition, a group of our First Nations students were invited to take part in a special cultural morning at Flagstone State Community College. This hands-on experience allowed them to immerse themselves in traditional dance, art, craft, and food, celebrating a culture with more than 65,000 years of wisdom and storytelling.

As you can see from the photos, our students were engaged, inspired, and thoroughly enjoyed the celebrations. It was a day of unity, learning, and pride, one that truly honoured the legacy of our First Nations Peoples and looked with hope and strength to the next generation.

Mununjali Housing is proud to stand alongside and support First Nations families in our community. As part of their ongoing commitment to cultural connection, wellbeing, and community support, they offer a range of programs through the Mununjali Jymbi Centre.

The Jymbi Centre provides a welcoming and inclusive space where families can access support, connect with others, and participate in activities that celebrate and strengthen First Nations culture.

Please see below for the August 2025 program schedule, which outlines the events and services available throughout the month.

Supporting Early Reading Success:

New Phonics and Literacy Resources for Families and Schools

The Australian Government is investing $10.8 million to support young readers through the development of a free, voluntary Phonics Check for Year 1 students, available to all schools across the country. This initiative is part of the Literacy Hub, a new online portal filled with quality resources for teachers, school leaders, and families.

The Literacy Hub includes:
✅ A free, online Phonics Check for teachers to use with Year 1 students
✅ Professional learning and teaching resources for educators
✅ Home-based phonics and reading awareness checks for families
✅ A range of fun and practical activities to support reading development at home

While phonics is just one aspect of learning to read, alongside phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension, research shows that explicit phonics instruction is the most effective way to help children read words accurately and fluently. Understanding how sounds map to letters and letter groups is vital for both reading and spelling success.

The Phonics Check is a quick, teacher-administered screening tool designed to assess how well students can "decode" words by sounding out letters and blending them from left to right. It helps identify students who may need extra support early in their reading journey, before learning gaps have a chance to grow.

We’re pleased to let our school community know that Everleigh State School will be exploring this Phonics Check with our Year 1 students at the end of Term 3, in line with the recommended timeframe set by the Government.

Families also have an important role in early reading development. The Literacy Hub provides free, accessible resources for parents and carers, including phonics and reading awareness checks to use at home. These tools are designed to strengthen partnerships between families and teachers, ensuring consistent support for children’s literacy growth.

You can explore all the resources, including the Phonics Check and at-home activities, on the Literacy Hub website:
👉 www.literacyhub.edu.au

Together, through early identification and collaborative support, we can ensure every child at Everleigh gets the best possible start on their reading journey.

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

PBL Focus Week 3 & 4 - Commitment - From the PBL Team

Student Council News - Crazy Hair Day

Everleigh State School - Canteen Message

Everleigh State School canteen is operated by Cove Catering. We have settled into Everleigh State School and would like to let parents know that we offer Barista made coffee, tea, hot chocolates and chai lattes, as well as an array of breakfast items available for purchase from 7.30am. So, if you have missed breakfast or your coffee, come on in and one of our friendly staff is happy to help. We hope to see you all soon.

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