Week 6 Update – Our School Priorities for 2025
As we settle into the term, I would like to share our key priorities for 2025 and how we are working together to support student success.
🎯 Priority 1: Lifting Student Performance in English with a Focus on Reading Reading is the foundation for all learning, and this year, we are committed to strengthening reading outcomes for all students. Our teachers along with our Head of Department Curriculum, are focusing on explicit reading instruction, building comprehension skills, and fostering a love of reading across all year levels. Families can support this priority at home by encouraging daily reading and discussing books with their children.
🎯 Priority 2: Engagement Through a Whole-School Approach to Differentiation Every student learns differently, and we are dedicated to ensuring all students have access to learning that meets their individual needs. Through a whole-school approach to differentiation, our teachers are focused on tailoring instruction, using targeted strategies, and providing additional support or enrichment where needed to help every child succeed.
Our staff are working collaboratively to embed these priorities into classroom teaching, and I look forward to sharing our progress throughout the year.
Upcoming School Review in May
I’m pleased to share that our school will be undergoing a School Review in May. As part of the Department of Education’s commitment to continuous improvement, every Queensland state school participates in a review every four years.
School reviews provide a valuable opportunity to reflect on our progress, celebrate our achievements, and identify areas for further growth. The process involves feedback from students, staff, parents, and community members, helping us shape our future direction.
I look forward to sharing more details closer to the review date and encouraging our school community to have a voice in the process.
Attendance Matters – Every Day Counts
Regular attendance is key to student success—both academically and socially.
Attending school every day helps students:
✔ Feel happier ✔ Build friendships and support networks ✔ Develop essential skills and knowledge ✔ Create better future opportunities
Let’s work together to build strong attendance habits and set our students up for success!
Swimming
Swimming lessons commence on Tuesday 11th March. Students will need to bring their swimmers, a sun-shirt, goggles (if required), a towel and a change of underwear. Please ensure all items are clearly labelled with your child’s name. We ask that you put sunscreen on your child/ren prior to their arrival at school as this allows time for the sunscreen to soak in and stops a film on sunscreen forming on the pool surface. Please see below the timetable for class swim times and take this in consideration when students are arriving late to school or being picked up early from school.
School Start Time & Morning Expectations
A friendly reminder that school learning starts at 9:00 am, and students should be ready to begin learning when the bell goes.
We understand that some families need to drop students off early due to work commitments. While we encourage students to arrive after 8:00 am, as there is no supervision before this time, we do ask that if students arrive early, they sit quietly in the undercover area while they wait for the school day to begin.
For students arriving at 8:00 am, it can be a long wait before learning starts, and we appreciate your support in discussing expectations with your child about using this time positively. A quiet chat with friends, reading a book, or simply relaxing before the day begins can help make the morning smoother for everyone.
Thank you for working with us to ensure a safe, calm, and positive start to the school day!
"When schools and families work together, students thrive. Open communication builds a strong foundation for success."
Supporting your child with Reading
Did you know? The way we teach Reading has changed in recent years, with a greater focus on using phonics to break up (segment) words. From Prep right through to Yr 6, students learn and practise the sounds and letter combinations in a sequential order, moving from simple sounds to more complex words and combinations. This approach to reading has been shown, through a wide range of research, to be the most effective and efficient way to teach all students to read.
Key skills students learn from Prep, are segmenting (or breaking a word into sounds) and blending. So when a child is reading and comes to an unfamiliar word, we remind them “segment and say the sounds” then “blend the sounds to say the word”. Parents and carers can support their child at home by modelling the steps shown here
and using these same prompts for reading words.
More information on how we teach reading and how to support your child with reading, is always available from your class teacher, or from Head of Curriculum, Mrs Karen Crook kcroo9@eq.edu.au
NAPLAN:
The year 3 and 5 students of Bundaberg South State School will be participating in NAPLAN, starting on the 12th of March. A timetable will be available soon.
DROP OFF/PICK UP STUDENTS
A reminder that there is limited parking in Walla Street however parking is available in George and Boundary Streets. Drop off and pickup times at school can be very busy, so please be patient and keep our children safe. A reminder that the Staff Carpark is not to be used for parking OR dropping/collecting children. Children or bikes\scooters are not permitted in Carpark, this is a safety issue.
LOST PROPERTY BOX
LOCATED OUTSIDE FIRST AID ROOM. Please ensure all items of clothing, lunchboxes, drink bottles etc. are clearly marked with student name.
UPDATE DETAIL FORMS
Student detail update forms were sent home last week, please make sure that your contact details are up to date. Please return updated contact details to Admin by Friday 28th February.