Brookfield Banter 29/01/2025

From the Principal - Leanne Duncan

2025 has started with the arrival of many new families joining Brookfield Sate School! A warm welcome back to our existing and new families! Brookfield staff look forward to continuing or commencing the journey with you!

Welcome Week is an integral part of the first two weeks of school for our students! Activities have kicked off from day one, with students connecting at lunchtime under circle and sail writing their name whilst connecting with friends – new and known!

Congratulations to our school captains for their commitment and enthusiasm for welcoming our existing and new families to Brookfield State School in such a warm and welcoming way! Check out the fabulous video posted on our Facebook page to see their welcome back message. Many families took the opportunity to capture a welcome week photo at our gate entrances! Thank you Caden, Victoria, Harper and Ida. 

We welcome new staff to our community this year. You will see their faces on Facebook as we introduce our staff to you and our wider community.

Welcome to Ms Sonya Coyle teaching year 3, Ms Sue Beck teaching year 4, Ms Carmen Crowley teaching year 6 and Mrs Shannon Neill who we will see each week as she joins our Prep teaching team!  We also welcome Mrs Nikki Durrheim as our Social Worker this year at Brookfield State School. Mrs Durrheim has worked locally and been a part of the wider community for many years.

Mrs Tracy Findlay is also currently replacing Mrs Vella, whilst she is on leave. We are also pleased to welcome Mrs Lisa McKay, with her breadth of knowledge and experience, in the role of Curriculum Co-ordinator.

Student Free Days

Student Free Days were spent inducting new staff and working collaboratively together. Time was spent with staff leading and continuing the work together around key elements and consistency of implementation of our evidence-based approach to Reading, reflected in Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum. Teachers also spent time with Daniella Falecki, author and founder of Teacher Wellbeing. Daniella was a teacher herself and is known for her realistic approach. As the analogy says, “we need to put our mask on before we can put one on others”. How we refuel and manage our energy was a valuable and productive session!  It was fabulous to see such a great turn out for Book Pack Drop off from families. This was a valuable part of transition for the commencement of this week!  

Welcome Week will finish off with a celebration organised by the year 6 graduation committee - Welcome Back Burger bar! All Welcome!

The community calendar is being updated and will be released as soon as it is ready. Please take note of the dates included throughout the Banter.

From the Deputy Principal - Leah Cathcart

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 1: Welcome to BSS 2025

As we begin our new year of learning here at BSS we celebrate Welcome Week across weeks 1 and 2.

Welcome Week is about looking after our own wellbeing and the wellbeing of others as we start the school year.​ It is about how we support the feeling of belonging together in our school.

We will focus on demonstrating 8 positive behaviours:​

• Smile ​
• Invite others to join you ​
• Encourage others ​
• Say hello
• Offer help​
• Support others​
• Work together​
• Look around you

We reflected on the power of a SMILE! Students discussed:

• Did someone smile at you today?​
• How did that make you feel?​
• Did you smile at someone today?​
• How do you think that made them feel? How do you know

This week students are invited to write their names on the concrete of Circle and Sail lawn with coloured chalk​. We will all `sign-on’ to join the Brooky Team for the year, to recognise and welcome everyone into our school team. 

Mrs Allison has an exciting Welcome Week focus for Makerspace activities at first break in the library. Makerspace is a place to make, build and idea-generate with STEM and art focussed on the welcome theme! This is a great place for our Preps-Year 2. Our Year 3-6s are invited to join the Read-a-Book-to-a Prep challenge. The joy of shared reading between our school leaders and our newest students is really something very special. 

Parent Information Night

Dates are set for our Parent Information Nights. I look forward to reconnecting with you and welcoming you back to the new school year.

The information nights are a fantastic opportunity to meet and hear more from your child’s teacher, to hear about the teaching and learning taking place in the classroom, to learn more around the classroom routines and expectations, along with upcoming dates and events. The nights are also a fabulous opportunity to connect with and meet other parents in your child’s class and year level cohort.

Please note, these nights are held in your child’s classroom and are for parents only.

Dates and times:

Prep: Tuesday 4 February 6pm

Year 1 and Year 2: Tuesday 11 February 6pm

Triple P

Goodbyes at the school or childcare gate can be tough, both on kids and parents. Clinginess and tears are common, especially during transitions like starting school, changing schools, or moving up a level. The latest “Triple P” latest article offers practical ideas to help make these separations easier.  

 The article is now live on the Triple P parent website: 

No more tears: Parenting tips for easier drop-offs 

Life Education: Prep-Year 4

In Week 3 this term, Life Education Queensland will be visiting BSS. During this week our students in Prep to Year 4 will be participating in a Life Education experience delivered by the educator. The sessions will be held in classrooms and students will participate along with their classmates and class teacher.

More information will be shared by class teachers as our timetable is finalised. QParents permission note and an invoice of $14.00 will be available in your QParents account in the coming days.

From the Deputy Principal - Katie Lewis

Welcome Back

Hello and welcome! For those who I am yet to meet, my name is Katie Lewis and I am the Deputy Principal for our upper school (Years 3 to 6).  I have been at Brookfield since 2012, with an 18-month break during 2019 and 2020 where I was Principal at Pullenvale State School. Much as I thoroughly loved my experience at Pullenvale, I made the decision to return to Brookfield and continue my work here - you will agree, it truly is a special place! My own children have attended Brookfield State School since Prep, with my daughter Zoe, now in Year 4 and my son, Ari, in Year 6.  I enjoy being out and about and connecting with our staff, students, and their families, and I encourage you to say hello and introduce yourself if I am yet to meet you.

The 2025 school year is underway, and our school is yet again alive and buzzing with our wonderful students and staff.  It has been great to get into classrooms and greet everyone, hear about their holiday adventures, and see learning taking place already.  Teachers appreciate these first couple of weeks to establish strong routines and foundations for the year ahead, and it is a great chance for us to do the same in our households.

Parent Information Nights 

The Parent Information Nights coming up in Weeks 2 and 3 will provide families with an opportunity to get to know their child/ren's teacher/s and the classroom routines and expectations for the year ahead.  I encourage parents to come along to these sessions if they are able to, and to also use the opportunity to connect with other parents in the room.  We know how important those parent connections can be to help us navigate the year ahead (particularly when things get busy and there are many dates and items to remember!).

Dates and times of Years 3 to Year 6 Parent Information Nights:

• Year 3 - Tuesday 04 February at 6pm
• Year 4 - Tuesday 04 February at 7pm
• Year 5 and Year 6 - Tuesday 11 February at 6pm

Welcome Back Burger Bar 

We are excited to welcome our families to the first social event of the year with the Welcome Back Burger Bar at the Brookfield Showgrounds.  Come along to the Brookfield Members Bar (at the Showgrounds) on Friday 7th February. The bar opens at 5pm, burger bar food service also from 5pm. Haven't been before? Generally, the kids run around on the oval, the parents gather for some banter, and everyone gets a night off dinner duty - lots of fun! This Burger Bar is being hosted by our Year 6 Graduation Committee.

From the Curriculum Coordinator - Lisa McKay

Hi, my name is Lisa McKay, and I am delighted to introduce myself as the new Curriculum Coordinator for our school. Many of you may know me from my work with Prep and the Prep/Year 1 class last year. Over the past two years, I have also been actively working on the reading program in our school. These experiences have deepened my understanding of the unique learning journey from Prep to Year 6, and I am excited to bring this knowledge and perspective to my new role. I look forward to collaborating with students, staff, and families to support and enrich our learning programs.

Office News

Welcome to the 2025 school year.

Our Administration office experienced a flood during the last week of the school holidays caused by a burst pipe in the First Aid Room.

Thank you to the quick-thinking parent who contacted us via Facebook Messenger to alert us to this incident.

We currently have temporary floor coverings which are due to be replaced this weekend. Thank you for your patience with this.

Traffic Reminder - Keeping Everyone Safe!

With school back for 2025, we need to keep safety in the forefront of our minds when travelling around our school. 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

Your support for this to make a difference to road safety around our school.  Thank you 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.

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.

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

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:

Helping Hands News

Extra-Curricular Calendar - Term 1

Community News