Term 2 Week 8 Newsletter

Principal's Report

Dear Stafford Heights Families,

This term, all classes have been exploring a similar focus in their English units, engaging with information texts and creating their own informative pieces. Students are learning to distinguish between imaginative and informative texts, identifying the unique features of each, such as images, vocabulary, titles, headings, and factual content. It’s been wonderful to see the excitement in classrooms as students dive into factual topics like farm animals, insects and minibeasts, Australian wildlife, life cycles, and more.

Metropolitan North Hockey Team

Congratulations to Jack, who represented the Metropolitan North Hockey Team at the State Trials in Toowoomba. His team finished as runners-up in a hard-fought competition against South Coast. Well done, Jack

2025 Sports Days

Our annual Sports Days are just around the corner, and Mrs Jardine has been busy preparing an exciting line-up of events for all students!

Senior Carnival Days – Monday 16 June & Tuesday 17 June

Junior Carnival Day – Thursday 19 June

We look forward to cheering on all our students as they give their best and have fun!

Celebration of Learning

Join us on Friday 20 June from 9:00–10:00am for our Term 2 Celebration of Learning. A coffee van will be available before school for parents and carers to enjoy. After that, head into classrooms to see the incredible learning and achievements your children have been working on this term.

Instrumental Music Concert

On Monday 23 June at 5:00pm in the hall, our school community will come together for a spectacular Music Concert, celebrating the talent and dedication of students in our Instrumental Music program. The evening will feature a wonderful variety of performances, including lesson groups, the concert band, solos, and duets, all showcasing the joy and progress our young musicians have made. We look forward to sharing this special event with families and extend our thanks to our Rachel Andrews for her incredible work in preparing students for the night.

Animals on School Grounds

A friendly reminder that dogs and other animals are not permitted on school grounds during drop-off and pick-up, including during Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) times. We love that many families walk to school with their furry companions, please just say goodbye at the school gate. Thank you for your cooperation.

Reminder:  School Uniform

As the weather cools, students are welcome to wear either the school jumper or a plain blue jumper, along with blue tracksuit pants or tights. Please ensure that all uniform items are clearly named to help us return lost property quickly.

A reminder that the only jewellery permitted at school is small earrings (studs or sleepers). If your child needs to wear jewellery for cultural, religious, or medical reasons, please contact the principal to discuss arrangements.

Sarah Abdy

Principal 

Head of Curriculum

Celebration of learning

On Friday Week 9 SHSS will be holding our annual Celebration of learning where parents and carers are invited into classrooms for a visit.  After this there will be a short assembly to celebrate as a whole school. 

Before school there will be a coffee van on site from 8.15am.  See you there!

Semester 1 Report Cards

Each semester, academic report cards provide point in time information about your child’s achievement at the end of each reporting period.

This term is a reporting term, which means that parents will receive the Semester One report card on Wednesday 25 June. Aligning with Version 9.0 of the Australian Curriculum, comments for the individual learning areas will clearly explain what was taught and assessed from the Australian Curriculum. These comments will be specific to the learning area identifying the parts of the achievement standard that were taught and assessed throughout the semester. Each child will be assigned a grade for achievement and another for effort, reflecting how their learning has progressed over the semester.  

Parents would have received an email to inform them that the bookings for parent teacher interviews on Tuesday 15 July, will be open on Friday 13 June.

Your child’s report card will be available in the QParents App and will also be emailed to you on the afternoon of Wednesday 25^th June, from 3:00pm.

To ensure you receive these reports on time please ensure you;

• contact our administration as soon as possible to update your contact and email address details if they have changed.
• contact our administration team if you do not have an email address and require a paper copy of the report.
• add ONESCHOOL@qed.qld.gov.au to your list of safe senders to ensure report card emails are not directed to your Junk folder by default. 

Majella Cooper

Head of Curriculum

Head of Inclusion

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD)

NCCD is an annual collection of information about Australian school students with disability. The NCCD enables greater understanding of the needs and how best to support students at school. All schools are required to make reasonable adjustments for students with a disability so they can access and participate at school on the same basis as their peers in line with the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005.  

There are different levels of adjustment:

-Quality differentiated teaching practice

-Supplementary

-Substantial

-Extensive

Schools determine the level through review of the evidence which reflects a wide range of practices teachers and schools implement to address the educational needs of the students. At different periods through a student’s schooling the level may change which is supportive of the individual need and evidence available relating to the impact of functioning within the educational setting. Each term the school teaching teams reflect on supports and required adjustments to ensure students are provided opportunities to access learning. This week Inclusion staff will participate in a network cluster moderation opportunity to review evidence and practices with other schools around the decision making of levels of adjustment. This is a valuable process to engage with and to reflect upon professional practice.

Challenge- Wavell Problem Solving Challenge Day at Wavell Heights State High School

A small selection of year 5 and 6 students participated in this year's Problem-Solving Challenge in May. This was an amazing opportunity for the students to participate in a team building environment to challenge and problem solve with critical thinking skills surrounding mathematical, science and design topics. All students participated in the day's events with respect showcasing their exceptional leadership skills with active listening, clear communication, collaboration and interpersonal skills. This was a fun filled day and all students’ efforts should be highly commended. Congratulations to our amazing students who represented Stafford Heights on this day.

Privacy Awareness Week

Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) is an annual event that aims to raise awareness of privacy and the importance of protecting personal information. PAW runs from 16 to 22 June 2025. This year's theme: 'Privacy—it's everyone's business'. Make it yours!

PAW is a great opportunity to consider what you can all do to improve privacy practices—both at work and in our own day-to-day lives. As we reflect on this reminder, we consider the changing landscape our children are a part of with advances in technology. The online environment can at times be challenging to navigate. Help support your children by having gentle conversations surrounding privacy and appropriate viewing online. Be aware of and actively using the privacy settings on your devices and aware of the parental controls also accessible on your devices. Below is a helpful link with parental information to support safety.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

Community Playgroup-Nursery Rhyme Fun  

The ECDP is coordinating a fun Nursery Rhyme themed playgroup morning for all our families within our Stafford Heights community who have a child under the age of 5. We welcome you to join us to connect as a community and have some fun together in week 10 of this term. We encourage you to register. Please refer to the flyer attached for further information.  

Shelley Kemp

Head of Inclusion

Enrolments

What to Include in an Enrolment Application

• Proof of address and residency documents
• State School Consent and school permission forms
• original birth certificate for each child
• passport and visa for any children born overseas
• recent report card
• Any relevant medical information and health action plans.
• Any current court orders or custody details related to the enrolling child/ren
• Any other information that you consider important for us to know about your child/ren.
• For students with an international passport and an Australian visa the following are also required: 
• visa grant notice from the Department of Home Affairs. Please note, a VIVO check does not provide details necessary for school enrolment.
• passport photo page.
• An official, English translation of their birth certificate may be requested.
• An Authority to Enrol in a Queensland State School is required for all subclass TR500 visas and is arranged by contacting Education Queensland International External link External link.
• All temporary visa holders should refer to Education Queensland International  External link External link to determine if an Authority to Enrol is required for their visa subclass.

Once you have completed the necessary forms, please return them (along with the necessary documents) to admin@staffordheightsss.eq.edu.au or alternatively contact Sonia Yates our enrolments Officer directly.

Pre Prep News

PREP ENROLMENTS FOR 2026

Applications for Prep 2026 are now being accepted.

If you have a sibling that is due to start in 2026 please make sure you come and see us in the office to receive an enrolment pack.

Please visit our school website at: https://staffordheightsss.eq.edu.au/enrolments to download our enrolment forms or alternatively collect from administration.

Please note: Our school is now catchment managed therefore we require the following documents to be sent through with the enrolment forms and permission forms.

The right age for Prep 2026 is for all children born between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021. Our Prep program is planned and designed to cater for all children at all levels of development who are born in this 12 month period

General School Information

Office Reminders

• Office Hours – 8.15am-3.15pm

• No Hat No Play Outside

* Student Birthday’s

If your child is celebrating a birthday and would like to bring cake to school to celebrate with the class please make sure that you contact the teacher or the office to ask how many students are in the class. We ask that you bring in something that can be easily given out to students for eg: cupcakes, freddo frogs and zooper doopers. (Please note: no full sized cakes as classrooms do not have the facilities to cut up slices to hand out)

• Students with Long Hair - All students with long hair should tie their hair back with a blue hair tie while at school (as 
per the Stafford Heights SS Student Dress Code)

• Early Pick Up of Students - If you need to pick up your child early throughout the day please come up to the 
office and sign your child out on the IPad.

• Medication at School - If your child requires medication at school, please bring the medication in the original 
packaging with a label from the chemist along with a letter from the Doctor stating the child’s name, medication, dosage and time to administer. You will then be required to fill out forms to give us permission to administer this medication during school hours.
Please note: where the dosage of a medication requires tables to be halved, we have to request that parents/carers supply a pill cutter, labelled with your child’s name.

• Family Holiday’s during School Term – if your family is going on a holiday during the school term, please email the office to inform them of the dates so that we know why your child will be absent from school. If the time away from school 10 school days or more the office will require you to fill out a specific form.

• Students Late to School – if your child is late to school (arrive after 9am), please make sure you come to the office first to receive a late slip to hand to their teacher. 

• Animals on School Premises – Please note that no animals are to enter school grounds at all as per the signs on each of our school fences.

• Student Absences – please remember to advise the office when your child is away from school. Please note: all Unexplained 
absences are noted in a child’s Report card.

1. Leave a message on 3621 2333 OR
2. SMS: 0426 305 697 OR
3. QParents App – Submit Absence OR
4. Email: admin@staffordheightsss.eq.edu.au

Even though absences may result in missed learning opportunities, the main reason we ask that you notify us when your child is away is so we are made aware that your child is SAFE.

School Photo Day - Next Wednesday 18th June

Envelopes came home with your child last week - please make sure if ordering photos that you return the envelope on photo day to your child's teacher 

Sibling Photos

If you have more than one child at this school, you will be given an envelope with the option to purchase a sibling photo. ALL Sibling photos are taken BEFORE school at 8:15am in the Hall. We ask that parents ensure that they take their children to the hall at this time to wait for the sibling photo to be done.

2025 Premier's Reading Challenge

Parents/Carers please keep motivating your children to read. More forms can be collected from their teacher or the office. Once completed please return to the classroom teacher or to the office.

QParents

We’re streamlining our office processes by making the most of QParents and encourage all parents to create an account. It’s a user-friendly portal which provides secure online access to information about your child’s schooling including attendance, report cards, invoices and payment history. QParents also provides ease of viewing and updating your child’s details (including address and medical conditions) and helps both schools and parents through improved administration efficiencies and reduced printing and mail-outs. Please see the QParents Fact Sheet below for details about how to sign up.

Student Awards

Student of the Week - Week 6

Respect Award - Week 6

PBL News - "Play Fairly"

Our focus for this week is to 'Play Fairly' which falls under our school value of Respect for Others and will require children to use the Staffie Life Skill of Perseverance. 

At this point of the term, break times can be quite challenging for our students, so this focus is a good chance for us to pre-empt avoidable disagreements by discussing coping strategies with the students before any incidents happen. We will discuss what 'playing fairly' means with the students and identify a common definition everyone in the class understands. We will discuss some strategies our students can use before the game starts, such as establishing the rules, especially if it is a made-up game, or just making sure everyone is aware of who is ‘it’ before the game starts. 

At home, it might be of use to discuss what particularly frustrates your child when they’re playing with others and run through some strategies that often help at home and so would be familiar to them. At school, we will be framing identifying challenges using an ‘I can’t’ statement but then turning it around with a ‘yet’ at the end, paired with a strategy to reach their goal. With this behaviour focus, students may even want to identify challenges in terms of ‘they wont’. An example might be; 'They wont play by the rules.....yet' I could get there by 'making sure everyone knows the rules of the game'.

Health & Physical Education

Gala Sport:

The last round of Gala Sport was held last Friday 6^th June.  Students did extremely well, given the stop start nature of our season due to weather.  

Due to the fact that the weather did claim one day of our Gala Sports Program it meant that our teams missed out on the ‘finale’ game – Stafford Heights v Stafford Heights.  With this in mind, we have organised to have that game played at School on Friday 13^th.

• Where: Top Oval
• When: 2pm Friday 13^th
• Who may attend: All classes and parents are invited to spectate at this game.

Term 2 – Before School Activity.

We will continue with skipping on Monday Mornings at 8.30am and running on Wednesday Mornings at 8.30am this term weather permitting.  For those who like to run on a Wednesday – it might be a good idea to pack a spare pair of running shoes and a plastic bag if you have them, the morning dew is getting heavier with the colder mornings and shoes are getting very damp.

Students are to wait in the blue area on both mornings to be collected by the relevant staff member.  Remember, you must have a hat and be wearing it to participate.

Well done to everyone and congratulations to those who were selected into teams.

Athletics

Our Track and Field Carnivals will be held at school in Week 9. Parents and visitors are welcome to attend on these dates.  We ask that parents assist us with the smooth running of events and use areas designated for spectators and that all students remain in supervised events areas.  A Coffee Van will be onsite for Monday and Tuesday events.

• Prep to Year 2 – Junior Carnival will be on Thursday 19^th June
• Year 3 -6 Carnival- will be on Monday 16^th and Tuesday 17^th

Arts News (Dance, Drama, Music)

Over the past eight weeks Dance Troupe and Choir have been busy preparing their performances for the Celebration of Learning Parade on Friday 20th June.  There is a lot of talent in these two groups, and it is great to see them blossom and shine every week at practice. Check out the photos below of their practices in action.

Also, a reminder to parents and carers in Years 3-6 that we have Rhythm Culture Drum and Dance incursion in week 10. Payments and permission are due at the office on Thursday 19th, Week 9. Thank you to all that have paid. It will be a fun and interactive incursion, and we look forward to sharing the photos with you soon.

Dance Troupe and Choir

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 12

Next

Class News - Prep A & Prep B

The Prep children have been investigating materials as part of their Science lessons. They have been exploring materials’ properties and determining if they are waterproof, durable, make a sound and blow in the wind. The students then selected from a range of pretty materials to construct their own wind chime. It was a tough choice but they used their senses to create something that could move, make noise, were strong enough to stay outside and could last in the rain. The final products will make for a beautiful decoration at their home front porches or to hang in a tree or back deck!

Class News - Years 3A & 3B

3A and 3B have had a jam-packed Term 2, with so much happening, it's hard to keep up! We were lucky enough to travel by bus to the Ekka Rural Discovery Day earlier in the term, where the students were able to take part in some amazing activities where they could learn more about what makes Australia's farming and agriculture so important.

We are also looking forward to Athletics Day in Week 9 too, so we can earn some points for our houses!

Have a great last couple of weeks, you can do it!

3A and 3B

Rural Excitement

Student Council

Student Council Update – Making Our Voices Heard!

Have you seen our brand-new Student Council board in the School Library? It's the place to learn all about Student Voice at Stafford Heights and stay updated on the exciting things we’re working on!

Recently, our Council team has been hard at work researching local businesses that share our passion for improving our school grounds. We've reached out to 12 generous companies, and we’re thrilled to share that three have already responded!

Plans are underway for a whole-school fundraiser—stay tuned for more details coming soon. We’re proud to be taking real steps toward making our school even better, and we can’t wait to share our progress with you!

Instrumental News

ECDP (Early Childhood Development Program)

Library News

Rules for Borrowing:

* You must always have a Library Bag with you to borrow a book from the library (no exceptions)

* You may borrow one (1) book for the week (prep to Year 3)

* Remember always keep your book safe by placing the book back into your Library bag when not reading it.

* Always bring your returning Library Book and bag back to school on borrowing day.

* If you misplace your library book, or the book has been damaged beyond repair, the school's policy requires replacement or reimbursement for that resource.

P&C

Our next P&C Meeting will be Tuesday 17th of June, 6:30PM in the Library (TBC).

You do not have to be a member to attend - everyone is welcome. If you would like to join as a member, email staffordheightspandc@gmail.com and we can send through more information.

We're hiring: OSHC Coordinator – Stafford Heights State School

Are you a passionate leader who believes in the power of play, connection and community? We're looking for an OSHC Coordinator to lead a dedicated team in an environment where both children and educators value inclusion, collaboration and fun.

Stafford Heights State School OSHC is run by our P&C and is built on strong relationships, inclusivity and a commitment to growth — for kids, families and staff. Through safe, supervised opportunities and the transformative power of play, we inspire curiosity, encourage resilience and nurture confident, capable individuals.

What we offer:
• A supportive P&C and school leadership team
• A warm, community-focused environment
• A program shaped by feedback and continuous improvement
• The chance to lead a space where children feel safe, seen and encouraged to thrive

What we're looking for:
• A qualified educator (minimum 2-year relevant qualification)
• Current First Aid training
• A valid Blue Card (Working with Children Check)
• A team leader ready to grow with us

Apply by: Tuesday 17th June
Email your application to: staffordheightspandc@gmail.com

THE LORAX Movie Night Friday 13th of June from 4:30pm.

There will be activities, face paint, a visit from emergency services, a sausage sizzle, and food trucks for more options!

Please note that the Redwood Street driveways will be closed from 4pm for safety and secure access while the event is set up and held. For OSHC pick-up after 4pm, please use the Finch Street access point.

OSHC News

Farewell and Best Wishes!
This month, we say a heartfelt goodbye to Lachie and Matt as they move on to new adventures. Both have made a lasting impact on our service with their dedication, positivity, and care for the children. On behalf of the entire OSHC community, we thank them for everything and wish them all the very best in their future journeys. Mr Lachie’s last day will be on Friday the 27^th of June

Staff Update
We’d also like to share that Tamara is currently on Leave. We appreciate your understanding and continued support during this time, as our team works together to maintain a caring and stable environment for the children.

P&C Meeting Invitation
You're warmly invited to attend the upcoming P&C Meeting on
🗓 Tuesday, 17th June 2025
🕡 6:30 PM
📍 Stafford Heights State School Library

This is a great opportunity for families to stay informed and involved in the direction of our OSHC service. Have your say on what happens at OSHC.

Thank you for being part of our wonderful community!

Warm regards,
The OSHC Team

Tuckshop & Uniform Shop

Hi families,

The end of term 2 is upon us already. A big thank you to the school community as a whole for the warm welcome. 

Term 3 will see us move to online ordering only through School 24. There will be no over counter lunch orders. School 24 will remain open for ordering until 9am. This is in line with most of our neighbouring schools and provides us with a number of back of house efficiencies that will mean we have more time to spend on things that will directly benefit our children. Kids are of course welcome to use cash to purchase frozen treats over the counter during first and second break.

In other news, we will be publishing a new menu for the beginning of Term 3. Some of the old favourites will be staying and there will be some new items that I hope will become new favourites! I will be reviewing our pricing as well over the break. Affordability for families remains front of mind, however our costs have also risen and we need to ensure our tuck shop remains viable. 

We have acquired 4 Containers for Change bins for the children to collect their juice and milk popper containers. This is a service offered by Containers for Change free of charge to our school - they supply bins, collect, count & reimburse. I’ve recruited our wonderful year 6s to spread the word that collecting our rubbish for recycling will go toward a milkshake maker for Term 4 - most of them are thrilled by this and I think a great way to get kids thinking about the benefit of recycling what would otherwise go toward landfill.

And last, I hope next newsletter I will be introducing to you our new co-convenor. She is going to be a wonderful asset to our community and the kids are going to love her.

Best regards

Jess 

Community News

APPLY NOW for QACI Brilliant Futures  - a two-year selective-entry preparation program for student participation in Year 7 and Year 8. Current Year 6 students are welcome to APPLY NOW. QACI Brilliant Futures provides impactful, collaborative extra-curricular learning experiences aligned with the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile, including inquiry, critical thinking and reflection.

"Sharks Camp 2025 - July. GET IN QUICK LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE!! Sharks Camp is a four-day volleyball camp designed to cater to athletes of all skill levels. With elite development opportunities available and pathways into club and state-level volleyball, this camp has something for everyone!

The Dates:

8th July | 9th July | 10th July | 11th July

We usually hit capacity pretty quickly, so if you're interested sign up today to secure your spot!!

YEAHHHH SHARKS!!