Brookfield Banter 12/03/25

From the Principal - Leanne Duncan

Ex Tropical Cyclone Alfred

Thank you to Mrs Lewis who stepped into my role whilst I was on leave. Thank you also to Mrs McKay who stepped in as Acting DP supporting Mrs Cathcart during this time. This feels like quite some time ago now!

To return to a once in 50-year weather event in Brisbane made for a very big week!  I hope that in this recovery stage you, your family and your home are okay. Please reach out if you need any support. My thoughts go out to those in the areas still feeling the flooding impacts of ex Tropical Cyclone Alfred. 

It was great to welcome families back in the gate and see the students joy and smiles at greeting their teachers, staff and their friends!   

Our beautiful school was fortunate enough to have minimal signs of destructive winds and no infrastructure damage. Mr Mathers and our fabulous cleaning team met Mrs Clark and myself at Brookfield SS yesterday and worked incredibly hard to ensure our school was ready for our learners to return today!  

Please support our continuing messages of the dangers of flooded water as Boscombe Road will take some time to recede.  

Thank you to Mr Mathers and our cleaning team!

Disappointingly, there was also some damage and clean up required that was unrelated to this weather event over the last few days. Our senior bench seats were upturned, thrown in gardens and over fences into bush. The doors of some of our classrooms had been graffitied. Two tables were also removed and destroyed by the rain. I am most disappointed that these actions increased the workload of those who worked so incredibly hard to re-open our school.

Thank you Aussie Beaver! 

The team and I extend our heartfelt thanks to Aussie Beaver for being available to support our preparations for Brookfield to re-open yesterday and to ensuring that vulnerable branches/trees were attended to whilst the oval is closed.  Our trees are checked regularly particularly after weather events. 

Oval - Closed

Our oval will take longer than anticipated before it can be re-opened for use. The soil is being tested, (as it was in the 2022 floods), for E. Coli. This is as a precaution as floodwater can be contaminated by overflowing waste.  The ground is very wet, and again similar to the 2022 floods, the rocks may need to be cleaned up by hand! Machinery at this stage will hinder more than help. Thank you to those who have offered to help support any clean-up - we may take you up on this after the soil is tested and the ground dries out enough!

From the Deputy Principal - Leah Cathcart

PBL: Positive Behaviour for Learning

Our Rules

Follow directions straight away

Keep hands and feet to ourselves

Listen and speak in a friendly way

Be in the right place

                                                     Care for others, objects and the environment

Our Values

Respectful, Responsible, Safe

Our Mission

Belong, Strive, Succeed

Week 6

Our focus was on arriving and leaving safely by walking through the pedestrian gate and respectfully keeping Access Parking clear.

We use the pedestrian gate and path at our main entrance to:

• Arrive and enter the school
• Leave & go home from school
• To ensure Access Parking is clear

Who uses the pedestrian gate and path:

• Students, parents, teachers and visitors

Read the signs 🛑 Stop! Do not walk through the Carpark it is not safe! 🚷

The carpark in front of the office is for:

• Staff cars
• Access parking
• Deliveries

🚷No pedestrian access means DO NOT walk through the car park⚠

In class we discussed:

• What are staff cars?
• What does Access Parking mean?
• What does pedestrian access mean?
• It is not safe to walk through the carpark. Why?

We also discussed:

• How do we act with respect, responsibility and safety with Access Parking spaces?
• Where are the Access Parking spaces at our school?
• Access Parking is often marked with a wheelchair icon. Who can use Access Parking?

When arriving at Helping Hands (OHSC) we:

• Turn left and use the crossing
• Walk with our parents and adults, down the path, use the crossing, then go down the stairs to Helping hands (OHSC)

To arrive at:

• Choir, Marimba, Band, Before school activities
• Enter through the pedestrian gate, use the pedestrian path and the crossing

At the end of the school day, we do the opposite:

• Walk up the path past the office to meet our parents and adults. Do NOT walk through the carpark!
• When we leave Helping Hands (OHSC). We walk with parents and adults back up the stairs. Use the crossing. Walk on the path until we get to footpath. Do NOT walk through the carpark!

Week 7

Our focus is on our uniform rules and expectations. At BSS is our responsibility to wear our uniform with confidence and pride.

We discussed many reasons why at Brookfield we wear our uniform with confidence and pride.

• The uniform helps teachers know who a student at our school is. Wearing the uniform helps
• you feel part of the school and proud to belong.
• Everyone wears the same uniform, so no one gets teased about their clothes.
• Our uniform keeps you safe from the sun.
• The uniform is strong and lasts all year, or even longer.
• It is easy for your parents to buy new or second-hand uniforms and accessories from the Uniform Shop in A-Block (next to the music room). It is open every Tuesday morning during the term. Your parents can also order on the Flexischools App.

Our BSS Uniform:

• BSS green polo shirt (Year 6 students may wear their Senior Shirt)
• Year 4-6 students may wear BSS sport shirt on Friday
• BSS green skorts/shorts
• NEW! BSS Bucket Hat with toggle or BSS Slouch hat (being phased out-only a few left in uniform shop) – name on
• White socks and black shoes or any colour sports joggers
• BSS green jacket or jumper – name on
• BSS green tracksuit pants – name on
• BSS green tights
• BSS green long sleeve undershirts
• BSS green polo shirts for extra sun protection or warmth
• BSS green religious/cultural items (e.g. hijab, yarmulke, turban)
• Students are encouraged to use the official Brookfield State School bag

Music Uniform:

• Long black pants and short-sleeved white shirt
• Green cummerbund and green crossover tie for girls or black bow tie for boys (provided)
• Black shoes and socks
• Hair neat and tidy with long hair tied back with (optional) green ribbon

Sports Uniform:

• Worn by children in Years 4-6 on Fridays and for sports carnivals:
• BSS green/gold sport shirt
• BSS green shorts
• BSS sports cap - worn during representative events only, including Friday interschool sport

Sports House Shirts:

• Every student at BSS belongs to a Sports House
• Sports houses are Mackellar (blue) Paterson (green), Lawson (yellow)
• Wear your House Shirt for Inter-house carnivals and events eg: Cross-country, Athletics, Ballgames

Hair and Accessories:

• Hair should be neat, tidy and natural coloured. You are encouraged to tie hair back if below the shoulder. You may wear BSS green and gold hair accessories
• You are permitted to wear small earrings (studs or sleepers), one watch, items of religious or medical significance (if required)
• Make up and nail polish is not permitted

We looked at our Behaviour Flowchart and discussed what may happen if we do not follow our uniform rules and expectations:

• Reminder from a teacher
• Visit the office to borrow a school shirt, jumper, short/skort or hat
• Teacher to contact Parent for repeated reminders
• Office Referral/Reflection Room for repeated reminders
• Non-uniform accessories – you will be asked to remove and place in your school bag or on your teacher’s desk

Ready-Set-Prep 2026

Our waiting list is open for students who will attend Prep in 2026! If your child was born:

1st July 2020- 30 June 2021 they are eligible to attend Prep in 2026

Enrolment forms are available for collection from:

• our administration office or
• digitally from our school website https://brookfieldss.eq.edu.au/

Please return your digital enrolment forms by email, or return your forms in person, to our administration office in order for your child to be added to our 2025 waiting list. Out-of-catchment enrolments are welcome and offers of placement will be offered; dependent on numbers and in order of date received.

If you have a child due to start in 2026 you are very welcome to register for an enrolment tour. We are currently taking bookings for tours every 2nd Tuesday. Please call our office on 3374 7333 or email admin@brookfieldss.eq.edu.au to make a booking. Your little people, our future students, are welcome to join us for the tour.

Brookie Bear adventures in the Junior School

Brookie Bear you are well-loved by our junior friends at BSS. The competition to earn Brookie Bear points continues. As announced by 2A, the next class to win a visit from Brookie was 1/2! Congratulations 1/2! Brookie loved joining the students for library borrowing. Was amazed to see and use the old-fashioned typewriter. Her favourite place to join the students of 1/2 for fruit break was the Circle and Sail lawn.

Date Claimer: Parent-Teacher Interviews Term 1 2025

This term parents will have the opportunity to book a time to meet with class teachers.

Prep-Year 1 teachers will meet with parents, in your child’s classroom across weeks 9 and 10. Your child’s teacher will let you know dates available.

Year 2-Year 6 teachers will meet with parents, in the Hall, from 3:15 on Monday 01 and Tuesday 02 March.

Booking codes will be shared in next week’s Banter and by your class teacher.

BSS Celebrates Harmony Day 2025:  Friday 21 March

Celebrate Harmony Week next week Monday 17 - Sunday 23 March 2025. Harmony Week is the celebration that recognises our diversity and brings together Australians from all different backgrounds. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.

Next, Friday 21 March, will join together and enjoy lunch with our buddies, for our BSS Harmony Week event.

We may wear orange to show our support next Friday (21 March).

From the Deputy Principal - Katie Lewis

Tropical Cyclone Alfred Reflections

I hope you all managed to keep yourselves and your children occupied indoors over the past week (for many of you without power). In our home, we rediscovered many board games and puzzles which we haven't used lately.  The crowd favourite was Yahtzee - for the kids and the parents!

Please be sure to reach out to your child's teacher or us here at the office if there are things we can do to support your family as we return to schooling and routines this week.

NAPLAN Implementation Update

We have moved the implementation of NAPLAN to next week, with the schedule outlined below.

Parents are encouraged to support their children to be ready by having devices charged each day.  If your child is yet to bring their headphones to school, please also arrange this for next week.

If students are absent, they are able to sit their NAPLAN Assessments in the 'Catch Up' sessions provided from Tuesday to Friday.

Life Education Update

Life Education will return to Brookfield on Wednesday 19 March to present the Life Education “Talk About It” program to students in Years 5 and 6 who missed their session last week.  Lessons will take place in classrooms. 

• 9:00 to 10:30am = 6A plus 6s from 5/6
• 11:45 to 1:15pm = 5A plus 5s from 5/6 

Gala Sports Day - Years 5 and 6

Save the Date - Year 5 and 6 students will participate in Gala Sports on Wednesday 26 March. Students will play either Soccer or Netball.  More information, permission and invoicing will follow.

From the Head of Curriculum - Lisa McKay

It was wonderful to walk around the school and see all the students back in their classrooms, fully engaged in their learning after the extreme weather event. They all appeared excited to return and were clearly enjoying their lessons, embracing a sense of normalcy once again. I hope you and your families are prioritising well-being and finding joy in the routines of daily life.

From the Social Worker - Mrs D

What a week of wild weather and uncertainly especially for those severely affected by floods and the loss of electricity. The Brookfield community is a wonderful source of support for each other, so please continue to band together, offer support and also ask for help should you need it over the next few weeks. Below is a wonderful article about how we can support our children manage their feelings after a cyclone.

How to help your child through the ‘big feelings’ stirred up by a cyclone

LOTE News

In Germany, many people enjoy one of the long traditions of the time leading up to Easter - eating fish for Lent, AND …. eating Berliner donuts!

So, Frau Raben and Sue from the Tuckshop have come up with a really yummy menu for Tuesday, 1 April (that’s Week 10) to experience German food.

On the menu will be:

First break: Fischbrötchen – a crumbed fish filet with optional mayo, gherkin and red onion on a German Kaiser roll. The Fischbrötchen is really popular street food in Northern Germany near the sea, in cities such as Hamburg and Kiel.

Second break: Berliner donuts. They are big raspberry jam-filled donuts with a few different names, depending on which part of Germany you are in. In central Germany they’re called Kreppel, in the Capital City Berlin, they are called Berliner Pfannkuchen, but in southern Germany you call them Krapfen.

The buns and donuts are baked fresh for us from King of Cakes, so are sure to be lecker (yummy!)

Orders on Flexischools until Thursday, 27^th March.

Please email Frau Raben lcrab10@eq.edu.au if you have any questions or contact Sue if you can help out in the tuckshop that day.

Enjoy your meal! Guten Appetit!

Library News

Date Claimer: Book Fair 20 March - 1 April 2025

We are excited to have wonderful books for sale at the Scholastic Book Fair! It begins next Thursday Week 8 and finishes Tuesday Week 10. Selling times do vary so check the schedule below.

Parents can make an online pre- payment at Scholastic for their child to come on in and choose books to that dollar value. Click here to make a pre-payment for your child to spend: https://parentpayments.scholastic.com.au/BookFairs

Alternatively, parents could pay in person with EFTPOS at the fair.

The school receives a commission on all books sold to buy new books for our library!

eBooks – Yr3-6

All year 3-6 students with permission are registered to access State Schools digital library which includes over 80,000 eBooks, audiobooks, read-along books and magazines. The eBooks Digital Library is available 24/7 at home and at school on a PC, laptop or mobile device.

To access eBooks, students visit the Sora website or download the free Sora app on a mobile device, search for the school: Education Queensland, and log in using their department username (MIS ID). Parents can access more FAQs on  eResource Services OnePortal page. Happy Reading!

Fiona Allison - Teacher Librarian

Sun Smart Policy 2025

Office News

Prep Families - Student Resource Scheme (SRS)

Thank you for your quick response! You should have received your invoice for $150.00 by now. If you have not seen this invoice in your emails or on your QParents account, please let us know as soon as possible.

Traffic Reminder - Keeping Everyone Safe!

Keeping safety in the forefront of our minds when travelling around our school should be a top priority. Please help keep everyone safe by staying alert, slowing down, adhering to our pickup and drop off routines and listening to our School Crossing Supervisors who are there to help families cross the road safely.

The documents linked below will take you to our Stop, Kiss and Go drop off and pick up zone guides.

For our Stop, Kiss and Go zones to be successful the following is necessary.

Handy Hints:

• Avoid parking along any part of the school side of Boscombe Road between 2:45pm and 3:30pm
• Use the area as a “drive through” service, with the zone operating like a fast-moving taxi rank, and not a parking bay.
• Avoid driving south on Boscombe Road toward Rafting Ground Road in order to keep it as clear as possible. No U-turns into driveways on Boscombe Road.
• Drive the short distance around the block to change direction.
• Stagger pick up between 2:55pm and 3:15pm to enable gradual traffic around the school. There is staff in the drop off zone supporting students for this time. Students not picked up by 3:15pm will wait in the office. The office will ring parents/carers if no message has been received by this time.
• Ensure you talk to your child/ren about their drop off/pick up arrangements, so that they know!

Students are to make their way to sit under CPA2 from 8:30am. There is no school supervision before this.

The zones operate more effectively and safely when everyone works together!

Entering the School

Please enter our school from the pedestrian gate. There is a pedestrian crossing and learning opportunity for children to make their way to Helping Hands OSHC.

Gate 2 car park is open for staff parking and disability access and also deliveries which can come at different times of the day.

For the safety of students at Brookfield State School, there is a 40 km hour zone on Brookfield Road. This is a supervised crossing which is attended and managed by two crossing supervisors.

Morning - 8am -9am
Afternoon - 2:50pm -3:20pm

Thank you for your support for this to make a difference to road safety around our school, and for your continued diligence and support of traffic management around our school.

Office Hours

The office is open Monday to Friday, 8:00am - 4:00pm, during the school term. 

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us at admin@brookfieldss.eq.edu.au

Absences

Reporting an absence

Parents can report their student's absence via the following options:

• QParents 
• Email - absences@brookfieldss.eq.edu.au
• Phone - 07 3374 7333 option 1

Any absence that is more than 10 consecutive school days must be requested via an exemption form to be approved by the principal prior to the absence. Please see the link below for more information about why an exemption is required from compulsory schooling 

Unexplained Absences

To avoid having unexplained absences listed on your child/rens school report, please ensure any unexplained absences are corrected by informing office staff on the day of absence. These can also be updated via the QParents app.

Late Arrival and Early Pick Up

We ask that all parents please bring their students via the office if arriving after 8:55am to ensure they are signed in, which will update their absence on the roll. Please note that even if you have emailed Admin advising your student/s will be late it is still mandatory that they are brought to the office to sign in.

If you need to collect your child/ren early (before 2:55pm) please ensure that you email both your class teacher and Admin.

Please note ALL STUDENTS must come to the main office to be collected prior to 2:55pm, unless confirmed otherwise by Admin.

Ensuring your student/s sign in and out of school correctly is for their safety. We thank you for your understanding.

QParents

QParents is a secure, online portal that has been created by the Department of Education to provide parents of Queensland state school students with 24-hour access to their child's information.

The portal allows you to securely access information about your child and communicate directly with your child's school.

Find out more about QParents and download the app today.

Note: Initial registration cannot be completed via the app and must be completed using a personal computer. Once registered, you can choose to use the QParents AparemysExternaapp on your tablet or smartphone, or via the mobile browser. Refer to registration and access for more information.

Make sure you use the latest browser version (e.g. Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge) when logging in to QParents from your computer or mobile device.

Note: Internet Explorer is not supported.

Please see attached further information below:

2025 Term Dates

• Term 1: Tuesday 28 January to Friday 4 April—10 weeks.
• Term 2: Tuesday 22 April to Friday 27 June—10 weeks.
• Term 3: Monday 14 July to Friday 19 September—10 weeks.
• Term 4: Tuesday 7 October to Friday 12 December—10 weeks

Helping Hands News

Extra-Curricular Calendar - Term 1

Community News

Celebrate the end of term 1 at Brookfield Showgrounds on Friday 4 April from 4pm.

Brookfield Show Society is hosting a FREE family movie, "Clifford the Big Red Dog" on the oval from sunset, around 6:15pm.

Pop down early to secure your spot and enjoy dinner from food trucks and a drink from the bar at 550 Brookfield Rd, Brookfield.

A range of food vendors will be in attendance with something to suit everyone. These include a BBQ from Brookfield United Cricket Club, pizzas from BrizWoodfired Pizza, Asian fusion and chicken nuggets & chips from Hawker Eats and ice-cream from Hit the Soft Spot.

This event is FREE and made possible from our film sponsors: Savages Coffee, Green Spirit Landscapes, 4069 Real Estate and Kenmore Hills Early Learning.

Brookfield Show Society 

Would you like to be involved with this years Brookfield Show? We are seeking a steward to run our Childrens Art Section. If you are interested and would like the opportunity to be involved with the show, please contact the secretary at secretary@brookfieldshowsociety.com.au