Brookfield Banter 26/02/25
From the Principal - Leanne Duncan
Student Leaders and Captains
Thank you to all who supported and attended our Student Leaders Induction presentation! Thank you to our official guests and a change of calendar for Dr Rowan to attend, Mrs McMillian for our wonderful marimbas performance, parent/families and grandparents who attended, the taking of the photo for memories and our year 5 parents who served a delightful morning tea! It takes a team!
The year 6’s continued on Friday to enjoy Leadership activities as a whole cohort with Mrs Moore, Mr Skehan and Mrs Lewis. In the afternoon, Mrs Lewis, Mrs Moore and I heard the captains action plans and goals for this year. It was a fabulous day all round! The year 6 students, and the inducted Captains, should be very proud of the day and their participation in it!
Fire Evacuation Drill
Next week we will be conducting a practice fire evacuation drill. Class Teachers will discuss with their students what this will look like, feel like and sound like to ensure they are prepared. The Inclusion staff also share a social story with class Teachers to use.
When the drill is complete, the office will send an SMS to parents advising that a practice fire drill has been practiced and is completed.
Farewell and Thank You Miss Bernice Noonan
Register your interest on Miss Noonan's Farewell facebook event on Friday 28 February! Helping Hands have organised for The Rich Pour Coffee Van to be here for you to purchase a coffee/drink and enjoy a chat to Miss Noonan as we acknowledge her wonderful contribution to our community! Dolly, our P and C President, is also attending to present a thank you on behalf of the P and C.
I am on a week's leave from today. Katie Lewis is acting Principal in my absence, along with Acting Deputy Principal, Lisa McKay together with Leah Cathcart. Enjoy the week and I look forward to seeing you on my return next Thursday!
Leanne
Community Calendar - Term 1
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
Ready-Set-Prep!
Our Prep 2026 waitlist is now open! Enrolment forms can be found on our school website or picked up from the administration office Monday - Friday.
From the Deputy Principal - Katie Lewis
Term 1 - Halfway
If your household is anything like mine, you will be well aware that we are halfway through Term 1 - the exhaustion is definitely real! As a family, we have been taking time, where possible, to embrace some downtime and enjoy a 'sleep in' if we can, to make sure we have enough in the tank to get through until the holiday break.
The halfway point provides a good opportunity for reflection. Take a moment to reflect with your children on their year so far:
- how much have they learnt already?
- what do they know now that they didn't at the start of the year?
- what is a highlight of the year so far?
- where is their favourite place to play, and who with?
- which subject is proving to be a favourite so far?
- what events have they enjoyed or are looking forward to?
In this reflection, why not also think about some goals for the remainder of the term ahead. The next half of the term will absolutely fly and we will be heading into the holidays before we know it!
NAPLAN - Practice Test - Thursday 27 Feb
Please ensure your child has their device updated with the latest Lockdown Browser (purple icon) and that it is fully charged for the NAPLAN Practice Test on Thursday from 9am in Years 3 and 5. This is a great opportunity for students to become more familiar with the NAPLAN testing platform.
Instructions for installing the NAPLAN Lockdown Browser.
Life Education - Talk About It - Years 5 and 6
For our students in Years 5 and 6, Life Education – "Talk About It" Puberty lessons will be presented next week. These lessons will take place in classrooms, presented by the "Talk About It" Educator. Parent resources are available online to support if required.
Year 5 students will complete the "Welcome to Puberty" module which includes:
- Define puberty as an important stage of human development
- Identify the physical, social and emotional changes that occur during puberty
- Identify strategies and sources of help to respond to unsafe situations
- Introduction to menstrual products
Year 6 students will complete the "Thriving in Puberty" module which includes:
- Define puberty and its significance in sexual maturity
- Identify male and female reproductive systems and their purpose
- Explore the physical, social and emotional changes that occur during puberty
- Introduction to menstrual products
The timetable for lessons is as follows:
Monday 03 March:
- 9:00 to 10:30 = 6A plus 6s from 5/6
- 11:45 to 1:15 = 5A plus 5s from 5/6
Tuesday 04 March:
- 9:00 to 10:30 = 6B
- 11:45 to 1:15 = 5B
Please contact your child's teacher if you have any queries.
Student Captains - Congratulations
We inducted our Student Captains on Friday 21 February at our Student Captain Induction Ceremony. Thank you to Dr Christian Rowan and Mr Paul McMonagle (representing Cr Adermann) for attending our ceremony. Our students did a wonderful job and are proudly wearing their badges this week.
Following our Induction Ceremony, our Year 6 cohort participated in a range of leadership activities, focused around our motto of ‘Belong, Strive, Succeed’ – including theory and practical components. Our Captains then worked with Mrs Moore, Mrs Duncan and myself to create their ‘Leadership Action Plan’ for 2025. There are many, many wonderful ideas and plans being made for the year ahead, and I am looking forward to continuing to support our Captains as they enact their plans.
Student Leadership at Brookfield
Sundae Funday - Monday 03 March
Don't forget to place your orders now on Flexischools!
From the Social Worker - Mrs D
In our busy and fast paced lifestyle, we may often forget to slow down and appreciate the world around us. Enjoying times of reflection and developing an attitude of gratitude helps our children to develop emotional intelligent as well as foster a mindset of appreciation and kindness.
Model Gratitude: Children learn through observation. When adults demonstrate gratitude, it teaches children the value of being thankful and respectful to others, even for small gestures.
Teach Them to Say “Thank You”: The simple act of saying “thank you” can bring joy to others and spreads kindness.
Talk to Them About Gratitude: Chatting to your children about what they are grateful for helps build empathy.
Perform Acts of Kindness: Children mirror behaviour. By performing acts of kindness and explaining the reasoning behind them, you are teaching the importance of kindness and how it ties into being grateful.
Create a Gratitude Ritual: A daily ritual, like sharing things you're grateful for at the dinner table, can help children recognize and celebrate the good things in their lives. It also helps them see that even on difficult days, there are reasons to be thankful.
Practice Gratitude in Tough Times: Showing gratitude during difficult moments teaches children resilience. It demonstrates that no matter what, gratitude should remain part of life, whether things are going well or not.
A Goodbye “Thank You”: Encouraging children to say thank you at the end of the day teaches them closure and appreciation for the day’s experiences, both good and bad.
Library News
Leaders Week
Leaders Week continues with Yr 6 badge recipient leader photos on display in the library, leaders and heroes books to borrow and ’The Leader in Me’ P-2 makerspace this week. We thank the marvellous library monitors for their wonderful leadership skills with younger students at 1st breaks!
ICT Student Leadership
In Leaders Week we recognise our meaningful Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) student leadership pathways here at BSS. There are two Class ICT Leaders in every Yr 1-6 class and our Yr 4-6 Tech Crew which meets every fortnight. Our fabulous Tech Captain Rei M delivers important assembly messages to students and leads the terrific Tech Crew with Ms Allison and Mrs Cole. We thank these students for recognising their ‘leader in me’ feelings of responsibility to take these roles on with enthusiasm.
Tuckshop News
If you are interested in volunteering at our incredible tuckshop, please email Sue - tuckshop@brookfieldss.eq.edu.au
Thank you all for your support!
Office News
Prep Families - Student Resource Scheme (SRS)
The Prep Student Resource Scheme (SRS) forms came home with your students in week 3. We ask that parents please complete the form as soon as you are able and return this to the main administration office. Alternatively, you are welcome to email the completed form to admin@brookfieldss.eq.edu.au. Please see below the soft copy of the form for your convenience.
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
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
