Edition 67

Principal's Message

Parent Teacher Interviews

This term, parent-teacher interviews will be occurring on Wednesday 3 September between 2.45 and 7.30 pm in the school hall. Booking information has been shared via SeeSaw. This is a perfect opportunity to check in with your child’s teacher to discuss his/her progress this term. I strongly encourage all parents/carers to prioritise this event.

Excursions and Paid School-Based Activities

Thank you to all the parents/carers who return permission notes and make payments for school events by the due date. This reduces the workload for classroom teachers and administration staff.

Due to changes with departmental policy, all school events requiring payment – camps, excursions, etc – must seek permission/expression of interest before invoices are emailed. This is to ensure that the school is not left with a deficit and parents/carers are not being overcharged. This week alone, the school will be funding the deficit of $1677 because parents/carers did not pay for events they signed a permission form for. While this may not seem like a large amount of money, it is money the school has not accounted for within our annual budget. Learning resources which were to be purchased, may now not be possible.

When camp, excursion and incursion  notes are sent home AND parents/carers return the note stating their child will be attending then this information is used to calculate the cost to be invoiced. It is an expectation that when a parent/carer gives permission for their child to attend a paid event that the invoice is paid by the due date.

As a result of the losses incurred because of unpaid invoices for both the Year 5/6 Gold Rush excursion and Street Science incursion, there will be changes made to the permission forms sent home. Moving forward, when permission is granted for a student to participate in a paid activity, parents/carers are agreeing to pay the cost associated for this activity. If the student (with permission returned) does not attend, the invoice is still expected to be paid. The only exception will be in the event of illness and a medical certificate has been provided.

If going to a concert or movie, your ticket cannot be purchased with a refund expected due to a change of mind. The same applies for school events.

Additionally, there are payment cutoff dates for a reason. It takes a great deal of time to cross reference payments with participating students. When making payments, please also ensure the correct invoice/reference number is used.

A reminder that it is not the staff’s responsibility to chase up unpaid invoices.  It is absolutely not tolerated to blame school staff for payments not being made on time. Such behaviour is not accepted, if a personal bill is not paid on time.

Thank you again to most parents/carers who accept the responsibility of returning notes and making payments by the due date.

School Musical

Preparations continue for our inaugural school musical. Tickets are now selling. As there have been enquiries regarding tickets for toddlers, a new ticket option has been added. Children under 2 years of age who do not require a separate seat are free.

Our cast are working hard in preparation for this event and are excited to perform. We would love to many more members of our community attend. At the moment there are only 76 tickets sold for Thursday evening and 11 sold for Friday.

Attendance

Our attendance rate is currently 89.5% year to date. This term’s attendance rate is 86.6%. There is certainly a lot of illness at the moment; however, there are still a number of unexplained absences, or students absent for unauthorised reasons. Please ensure:

• All absences are explained
• Students are absent for valid reasons
• Students arrive at school on time
• Late arrivals and early departures are limited to ensure teaching and learning is not unnecessarily interrupted.

Student Free Day

A reminder that Friday 5 September is a Student Free Day for staff professional development. This is a statewide student free day. If you require care, please contact YMCA. Everleigh State School will NOT be open to students.

2026 Prep Information Evening

Thank you to the many families who attended our 2026 Prep Information Session. We had over 100 families join us last night! If you were unable to attend, please ensure you contact Administration to book in for our Prep Start Program in Term 4.

If you have a child who is eligible to start in Prep in 2026 and you are yet to enrol, please contact us as soon as possible.

If you have collected enrolment forms and are yet to return them, please return all necessary paperwork as soon as possible.

Deputy Principals' Message

Week 5:

A Great Time to Check In With Your Child’s Learning’

As we reach the midpoint of the term, Week 5 is a valuable opportunity for families to connect with their children about their learning journey. These conversations can help build confidence, clarify goals, and strengthen the home-school partnership.

Here are some key questions to guide your discussion:

• What are you learning? Why is it important?
  This helps children articulate the purpose behind their learning and make connections to real-world applications.
• How are you going with that?
  Encourages reflection on progress and effort, not just outcomes.
• How do you know you’re improving?
  Promotes self-assessment and awareness of feedback, rubrics, or personal goals.
• Where do you go if you need help to improve?
  Reinforces help-seeking behaviours and reminds students of the support available—teachers, peers, online resources, or even strategies they’ve learned.

These conversations don’t need to be long or formal—just a few minutes of interest can make a big difference.

Student Wellbeing: Insights from the QEW Survey

Over the past three years, our Year 4–6 students have participated in the Queensland Engagement and Wellbeing (QEW) Survey, which provides valuable insights into how students are feeling and coping at school.

We’re pleased to share that the data shows a positive trend in student wellbeing, with many students reporting that they feel supported and are using tools and strategies to manage their emotions and challenges. This reflects the strong focus on wellbeing across our classrooms and school community.

The survey also highlighted some patterns in student routines:

• 25% of students are going to bed after 9:00 pm
• 35% report using digital devices before bed, either sometimes or always

Research shows that good sleep is essential for children’s physical growth, emotional regulation, and cognitive development. When children are well-rested, they are better able to focus, manage their emotions, and engage in learning.

Families may find it helpful to know:

• Screen use before bed can interfere with melatonin production and delay sleep onset.
• Regular bedtimes help children get the recommended amount of sleep for their age.
• Calming activities like reading or quiet conversation can support a smoother transition to sleep.

Sharing this information helps families make informed decisions that support their child’s wellbeing both at home and at school.

Toys, Valuables, and Bag Tags at School

We’ve noticed an increasing number of toys and valuables being brought to school, including novelty bag tags that double as toys. While we understand that these items can be fun and meaningful to students, they often become distractions during learning time and can be easily lost or taken.

To help maintain focus and reduce the risk of lost items, we ask that:

• Toys and valuables are kept at home.
• Students have only one bag tag on their school bag to help them identify it.

Keeping school bags simple and free from extra items helps ensure a smoother, more focused school day for everyone.

Message From The Executive Services

2026 Senior Polo Shirts

Ordering has now opened for our 2026 Year 6 Senior polo shirts. Please see special ordering details. As these are a custom order, there are only two rounds of production occurring. Please ensure you get your orders in quickly, so you don’t miss out.

Parent/Carer Volunteer Wanted:

We are in need of a helpful parent/carer or two to assist us with our twice-a-term book club. This entails date-stamping catalogues and sorting orders and delivery to classrooms. If you have not yet already, you will need to complete the volunteer training at our next session. Please come see us at the school office if you are interested in helping.

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.

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.

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:

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

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, M.s Tanya Conway

Sparking Our Curiosity – Science Week 2025

This week, we celebrate National Science Week, a time to explore, experiment, and be amazed by the wonders of science. Students take part in hands-on activities, fascinating investigations, and exciting discussions that ignite curiosity and inspire a love of discovery.

From exploring the wonders of the world around us to uncovering the science in our everyday lives, Science Week is all about asking big questions and finding creative ways to answer them. It’s exciting to see our young scientists in action!

A highlight of the week was our Street Science incursion, where students experienced the thrill of science brought to life through spectacular demonstrations and interactive experiments. From exploding reactions to mind-bending physics tricks, the show sparks excitement and proves that science is not just something we learn about, it’s something we can see, hear, and feel.

Be Bold, Be Kind, Speak Up – Standing Together Against Bullying

This week, our school joined the national Bullying No Way! campaign, embracing the 2025 theme Be Bold, Be Kind, Speak Up. On Tuesday, students gathered for a special parade where they learned more about this important message, and during the week discussed ways they can all help to make our school a safe, supportive, and respectful place.

Classes engaged in activities designed to build empathy, encourage kindness, and empower students to speak up when they see or experience bullying. These conversations and actions help ensure our values of respect, inclusion, and care are lived out every day.

What is Bullying?

The Queensland Department of Education defines bullying as:

Bullying is the ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm.

It can involve an individual or a group misusing their power (or perceived power) over one or more persons who feel unable to stop it from happening. Bullying can occur in person or online, and it can be overt or covert. Behaviour may be repeated, or have the potential to be repeated, over time.

Bullying is different from one-off conflicts, disagreements, or isolated acts of unkindness. While these behaviours still matter and should be addressed, they don’t meet the definition of bullying unless they are repeated or have the potential to be repeated over time.

By understanding what bullying is, and what it isn’t, we can all work together to keep our school a safe, supportive, and respectful place for every student.

Book Week Reminder
Next week, (Week 6) we will be celebrating Book Week “Book an Adventure”, a wonderful time to share our love of reading and storytelling. Don’t forget to prepare your costumes for our Book Character Parade on Friday at 8:45am. We can’t wait to see the creativity and imagination on display!

Welcoming Our Future Educators

We are also delighted to welcome many pre-service teachers this term. Their enthusiasm, fresh perspectives, and love of learning enrich our classrooms and offer students even more opportunities for connection and engagement.

Hosting pre-service teachers is an important part of our role as a school community. It allows us to support the next generation of educators as they develop their teaching skills and learn the craft of guiding and inspiring students. We are proud to play a part in shaping passionate teachers who will continue to create safe, respectful, and positive learning environments in the years to come.

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

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

Music Notes From Mrs Chivers

Wow! This term is really flying by quickly. We only have 4 weeks until our musical. The cast and crew are working hard to develop their characters and tell a great story. See the photos below of some of our characters in costume. Don’t forget to buy your tickets for either the Thursday evening show (11^th September) or our matinee on Friday (12^th September).

Years 3 & 4 are learning about the elements of music and use them to compare different pieces of music. They have been learning Australian Bush songs and playing the recorder. Years 5 & 6 are looking at different rhythms through songs and learning the ukulele. Preps are continuing their musical exploration with songs and games and have been involved in dramatic play. They have been acting out the story of the 3 little pigs.

Keep on making music.

Amanda Chivers

P.E Message From M.s Beck

Everleigh State School - Library News - Bookweek Parade 22nd August - 8.45am

Message From Everleigh State School - P & C

Upcoming General Meeting

The General Meeting for the P&C is on Monday 18th August at 6pm in the Resource Centre.

Parent Volunteers 

We're looking for wonderful parent volunteers to help make our upcoming activities a success!  Whether you can lend a hand for a hour, a day, or behind the scenes, your time and energy will make a big difference for our students.  Volunteering is a great way to be part of the school community, meet other families, and see the smiles your efforts bring.  If you're interested, please let us know - we'd love to have you join us.

Everleigh State School - Canteen News

Just a friendly reminder to parents ordering tuckshop for their children, that if you haven't ordered for your child for that day and it's after cutoff; you are welcome to give the canteen a call to organise a meal for your child. You must ensure payment is made either on Flexi School or at the canteen on the day of the order. Please be patient and understanding as we get settled into Everleigh's wonderful community.

If there is anything you would like to see in the canteen, we are open for suggestions. Can't wait to see all our lovely families and students at the tuckshop.

UMS Uniform Shop News

Scouts Information Night - 15th September 2025

Scouting is a fantastic way for young people to connect with their community while building lifelong skills such as resilience, confidence, leadership, and teamwork—all while making new friends and having fun.

We’re looking forward to meeting some of your young people and their families at the event.