Dear Parents and Caregivers,

WELCOME

Welcome back to all of our current students and also to the new families who have joined us here at Enoggera State School for the 2025 school year. We hope your time with us is enjoyable and positive and that your children make some lasting friendships within our lovely school community. I particularly extend a warm welcome to all of our new Prep families, as this may be your very first association with the school, we look forward to you becoming involved in the school and making some lasting partnerships with you and your children.

As usual, at school we have a busy year ahead with many exciting and educational activities planned, to ensure we bring out the very best in each student and that we do our utmost to prepare them for what lies ahead in the future. We look forward to working closely with our parents and caregivers throughout the year as a team to bring this goal to fruition, because as they saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child!”

STAFF

We also welcome some returning staff to our school this year with Mrs Rossiter returning to Prep from Maternity Leave and Mrs Kent returning to us from McDowall SS. Our staff for 2025 is below:

STUDENT FREE DAYS

During the days before school recommenced, our staff were very busy participating in professional development, planning meetings and setting up classrooms. Staff undertook professional development around our school priorities: First Aid, DoE Mandatory Training, Universal Design of Learning, the teaching of Reading, and online tools Cars and Stars, Reading Eggs, Mathletics and Mathseeds. I am very appreciative of the professionalism of our staff and the way they approach these days to make them as beneficial as possible.

INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE

The refurbishment project for C and B Block is in its final stages with full completion due over the Easter vacation when the operable doors, new entry doors and pinboards/autex fabric will be finalised. This week they are finalising the data works at night and are finishing the install of the augmented hearing system into each of the classrooms. 

We certainly are very pleased with the works and the refresh this has given to these classrooms with the new teaching wall, including LED interactive panel and augmented hearing system, paint, floorcoverings, fittings, air conditioning and additional cabinetry. The securing of the verandahs in these areas with screens and gates is also a blessing for student safety and also securing of furniture etc out of hours.  

We are very thankful to the DoE project managers and the builders for the great work and the value add this has given our school. We just need to get ourselves on a list for a future upgrade of A Block and then the whole school will have had an upgrade in recent years.

PARENT INFORMATION SESSIONS and PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS

Next Tuesday evening, 11^th February, we will hold our annual Parent Information Sessions where parents can attend the classrooms to meet with the teachers to hear about the new school year and the routines and expectations for their child’s class. 

There will be two repeat sessions at 4:30 and then again at 5:15 to allow working families to get to them and also to allow families with multiple children to get to at least two of the sessions. There will be a sign in sheet at each session so that information can be forwarded to families who are unable to attend on the evening. 

The sessions will finish with a Q&A session, so if you have questions suitable for the whole group, please save these for then.  If you wish to meet with the teacher individually about your child, this is not the right time, but you should make another time convenient for both to have a more in-depth conversation. 

Our first round of formal Parent Teacher Interviews for this year will be held this term in week 10 on Tuesday 1st of April in EPAC between 3:15 and 7:15pm. More information will go out in the coming weeks about using the SOBS program to book your interview spots.

STUDENT LEADER INVESTITURE CEREMONY

Next week during our assembly time we will hold our student leader investiture ceremony for 2025. At this ceremony we will invite the Year 3-6 students and families of the students being invested into leadership positions to attend. The ceremony will be held in EPAC commencing at 2pm. The ceremony will include investing our: 

• School Captains- Zoe Want and Miranda Aguirre
• School Vice-Captain and Student Council Chairperson- Charlotte McDonald
• House Captains: Waratah - Harry Howard and Hamish Dow, Banksia -Matias Cabrera and Harry Peart
• Arts Captains- Ella Brauer and Sienna Grice
• Class Student Council Representatives- still being selected by their classes in Year 3-6.

Invitations will go home to those students being invested this week. The students will receive their badges of office and undertake the oath of office.  Following the ceremony, we will have afternoon tea outside EPAC. Students being invested are asked to wear their full school uniform including all black shoes and white socks, school polo (not sports polo) and to have their hair neat and tidy with school coloured hair ties.

NAPLAN

This term we will undertake NAPLAN testing for our Year 3 and 5 students online between March 12 and 21. We ask that you do not make appointments or plan holidays during this time as it is important that all students have the opportunity to participate in this testing program as it provides valuable data to inform their future learning journey and school improvement strategies. If you have concerns about your child sitting the NAPLAN tests and require information about possible withdrawal or exemption or special considerations, please make an appointment to see me, so that we can discuss these options and complete the required paperwork.

MORNING ROUTINES

To ensure the drop off in the morning is as smooth as possible, it is most important that parents of our younger students who are waiting with their child wait in the Prep and Yr 1 eating/line up areas only. Other areas (D Block and E Block and the Astro turf) are supervised by staff and are play areas from 8:30am and if parents are waiting in these areas, they are impeding staff visibility and effectiveness of their supervision role.

When the bell goes it is important the students are encouraged to line up in two lines to wait for their teacher. It is helpful if parents can step back at this time to allow the children to do this independently, as we are finding at present that parents are standing in the lines and getting in the way of the teacher taking over. 

Parents should aim to use the “band aid” method which is to say goodbye quickly and tell them you will be back this afternoon and leave promptly. If you are lingering then students pick up on this and start to lose confidence. Holding their hand in the line, carrying their bags and following them in the line is not helping them gain independence and is prolonging the goodbye. Parents should have a plan to gradually move towards independence in the morning drops offs, particularly by Year 1.

Till next time,

Mrs Anne Robinson

Principal