School Council 2025
Our nominations for School Council closed on Monday 3 December. We had four positions to fill for our School Council. I am delighted to announce the following parent/carers will join our School Council:
Daniela Sayegh
Fleur Hewitt
Richard Fewster (returning)
Naomi Stacey (returning)
Our Teacher Representative on School Council will be Mrs Morgan-Lee Hickey.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Ebony Tannouri and Sharna Thomason for being members of our School Council over the past two years. We are grateful for their time, perspective and support. Thank you to the parents and carers who nominated our newly appointed School Council members.
Heidi Boyd will continue for another year on the School Council as a parent representative. Lisa Golightly will continue as a community representative.
Our next School Council (AGM) will be held on Monday 24 March, whereby the new School Council will meet together for the first time. At this meeting, we will elect the President and Deputy President of our school council.
Garden Working Bee
Our School is hosting a parent and community Garden Working Bee on Friday 14 March 2025, from 3:30-6pm. Parents and carers are invited to join us for an active afternoon. The focus of the Working Bee will be to:
- Plant and landscape the new bike storage area
- Mulch the paths in the vegetable garden
- Add compost and pea straw to the vegetable garden beds in preparation for Autumn planting
- Removal of bike racks and raised garden beds
- Finish fencing on bike storage area
A BBQ and light refreshments will be available for those families who RSVP.
If you are able to attend the Working Bee, please register your attendance below by clicking the link. Some shovels and wheelbarrows will be provided, but if you have your own, please bring them along to assist the afternoon. We encourage families to bring water gardening gloves and a water bottle to stay hydrated. Please RSVP by Tuesday 11 March 2025 to assist with catering. We look forward to you joining us for our very first Garden Working Bee for 2025!
Garden Working Bee Registration
Parent Workshop with Lisa Taylor - Thursday 27 March
Parent Workshop with Lisa Taylor - Thursday 27 March
We are excited to be hosting a Parent Workshop for QPS parents and carers with Child and Family Therapist - Lisa Taylor. In this interactive workshop, families will have the opportunity to learn:
How to understand and respond to your child's school-related anxiety
Practical tools for managing tricky morning routines
Strategies to build your child's confidence and resilience
Ways to strengthen home-school partnerships to build your child’s willingness to engage with school
The workshop will be held at Queenscliff Primary School on Thursday 27 March at 7pm - 7:45pm. Light refreshments and snacks will be provided. Parents and carers must register their attendance using the link below. Unfortunately due to the interactive nature of the workshop, it will not be available online.
Parent Workshop with Lisa Taylor Registration
QPS Special Days 2025
There are many special events and dates across the school year that are celebrated on a local, national and international level to promote sustainability, diversity, inclusivity and respect. However, there are simply too many special dates for our school to do them all without having significant interruption and impact on core teaching and learning programs. As a result, our school conducted a survey with families, staff and students in 2024 to determine what, as a community, we value as important days to celebrate and commemorate. The following special events and dates were identified from the surveys:
R U OK Day
IDAHOBIT Day
NAIDOC Week
Reconciliation Week
Harmony Day
Clean Up Australia
ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day
All of the above special dates/events were voted to be priority for our school by students, parents and staff and align seamlessly with our vision in promoting inclusivity and care for our environment, celebrating diversity and respect for First Nations People and culture. This year our school will host events and activities across the year on the nominated special dates.
School Saving Bonus
Parents/carers are encouraged to carefully read the notice regarding the School Saving Bonus posted with this week’s newsletter. Many families have not accessed the School Savings Bonus portal and allocated their funds appropriately. With excursions and camps beginning to populate our school year, it is important that families access the portal to organise how they would like to spend the $400 bonus from the Victorian Government, so that they can make the most of the financial support. Families are encouraged to contact the School Office if you have any questions or concerns about the School Saving Bonus. Please read the notification attached to this week’s newsletter for further information.
Lions Club Bursary Awards
Congratulations to Jack Mc and Suhani K who received the Lions Club Community Excellence Award and Bursary for their dedicated approach to learning and service to our school community. Jack and Suhani were presented with a certificate and bursary by the Lions Club at our assembly in Week 4.
Before and After School Care - Survey
Our school is aware that many families are currently on a waiting list with Lonsdale House to have their child attend After School Care at Queenscliff Primary School. As a result, our school will be sending families a survey later this week via Compass to determine the number of families who currently use the service, how many are on a waiting list and to gauge interest in holiday programs and Before School Care options. Please keep an eye out for this notification on Compass and we encourage ALL families to complete this survey. It is important for the School Council’s decision making moving forward that we have input and perspectives from all members of our school community.
2025 NAPLAN Dates
Week 7
Wednesday 12 March - Writing
Week 8
Monday 17 March - Reading
Tuesday 18 March - Conventions of Language
Thursday 19 March - Numeracy
Students who are absent on a day of NAPLAN Assessment will be provided with time to complete the assessment on another nominated day. If you have any questions regarding NAPLAN, please email your child's teacher. Further information regarding NAPLAN assessments was provided to Year 3 and Year 5 families via Compass.
Instrumental Music and Vocal Lessons
The School Council met on Monday 3 March and discussed options for our school to continue with offering instrumental music and vocal lessons. At the end of 2024, our school refurbished the former music room (located in between 3/4R and 3/4T) that Jarrah formerly used for lessons into a wellbeing sensory space to accommodate students with additional needs across the school who require a calming breakout space. The wellbeing sensory space was requested by Student Leaders, SRC representatives as well as staff in 2024.
Currently our new Specialist Classroom is being utilised for all learning sessions across the week, as the school has timetabled specialist subjects (Visual Arts, Science, Performing Arts) to be delivered throughout the week to reduce noise level in the main building. In addition to this, the Specialist Classroom is also used for Spelling Mastery lessons and Maths Olympiad. Our school is unable to run music lessons in the main building due to noise disruption to neighbouring classrooms. As a result, we have limited space for instrumental music and vocal lessons to be held at our school during school hours (9-3pm).
However, the School Council agreed that it would be most appropriate to offer instrumental music and vocal lessons to students and families before and after school depending on the availability of the music teacher. The school is currently undergoing recruitment for a new Music Teacher. Interested Music Teachers are encouraged to send a cover letter and CV to queenscliff.ps@education.vic.gov.au by Monday 10 March 2025. The options of instruments students can choose to learn will be dependent on the skillset of the appointed Music Teacher. Families will be notified via Compass once a new music teacher has been appointed.
District Lightning Premiership - T-ball and Cricket
Year 5/6 represented our school at the Lightning Premiership competition for T-Ball and Cricket at Portarlington Reserve on Tuesday 4 March. Our school had 5 teams competing at the event. Students competed against other schools on the Bellarine and across the Geelong district, including St Leonards Primary School, Wallington Primary School, Drysdale Primary School and Portarlington Primary School. Students have been participating in training sessions with their teachers during lunch in preparation for the event. Congratulations to our Tball Blue team who came away as the Peninsula District Girls' Tball Champions. They displayed sportsmanship, enthusiasm and school pride when representing our school.
School Committees
We have had limited interest from parents and carers to join our committees this year following the last newsletter. Our school values parent involvement and engagement and we believe it is a partnership, between school and home, to make our school the best it can be. As a result, we invite you to consider joining one of the committees listed below. We understand that many parents/carers are busy with family and work commitments. However, joining one of the below committees does not involve a significant amount of your time. As they say, ‘many hands, makes light work for all’. We would appreciate your support and involvement.
We have the following committees in 2025:
Grounds and Gardens Committee
QPS Community Engagement and Fundraising Committee
Queenscliff Market Committee
The Grounds and Gardens Committee meet twice a term to discuss plans and projects to improve the school grounds. In 2025, our focus will be on constructing a nature play space and refurbishing the hardcourt basketball area. The committee are involved in sourcing contractors, creating plans for refurbishment and organising community working bees.
The QPS Community Engagement Fundraising Committee will work together to create a plan for hosting termly school community events to increase parent engagement and support the planning and development of fundraising for the school to improve learning resources, equipment and technology.
The Queenscliff Market is a significant fundraiser for our school. Annually, the Queenscliff Market can fundraise up to $20,000 for our school. In the past, the Queenscliff Market has primarily been coordinated by one parent volunteer, Lisa Golighlty. However, 2025 is her final year of being a parent in our school community. As a result, it is time for the ‘baton to be passed on’ as they say. We are seeking to create a committee made up of parent volunteers to support the organisation, communication and preparation involved in the Queenscliff Market, which is a pivotal fundraiser for our school. The roles of committee members will be streamlined so that they are not momentous or significant. Rather, we take the approach of ‘many hands, make light work’.
If you are interested in being part of one of the above committees, please register your interest by completing the form below, including your name, contact details and the committee with which you would like to be involved in.
QPS Committee Volunteer Registration
Pick Up and Drop Off Procedures
Parents and carers are responsible for the care and supervision of students travelling to and from school.
Families collecting their children from school are encouraged to arrange a meeting spot with their child on school grounds, to reduce the number of students leaving school grounds and having to cross Stevens and Stokes Streets unsupervised without a parent or carer. Parents are welcome to meet outside their child’s classroom at 3pm or arrange another meeting spot on the school grounds.
Students and families are encouraged to use the supervised children’s crossing that is located at the front of the school on Stevens Street when crossing the road, rather than exiting the school using the school gates on Stokes Street, unless they are riding their bike home to access the Bellarine Rail Trail.
When dropping off your child at school, parents/carers are encouraged to park their car in a suitable parking zone (not near the children’s crossing) and walk their child along the footpaths and/or supervise road crossings until they arrive onto school grounds.
The above practices aim to ensure that students arrive and depart from school safely under the supervision and guidance of parents/carers. Thank you for your understanding and support to ensure safety is maintained for all students, parents and community members.
Our School has met with the Borough of Queenscliffe representative to review the Traffic Management Plan on Stevens and Stokes Street. The Borough of Queenscliffe has plans to develop potential ‘Wombat Crossings’ on Stevens Street (where the current Children’s Crossing is located) and one close to the roundabout where Stevens and Stokes Street meet (corner of our school) to reduce traffic speed and to support safe crossings for students and families. This development is dependent on funding, grants and Council approval in the future. Our School Council will be providing families with further information on this plan in the coming weeks and will be requesting your support to get behind this initiative.
Bike Duty - Stokes Street
Commencing next week (Week 7), the gates located at the back of the school grounds will be locked during school hours. A teacher will unlock the gates at 3pm and supervise students departing school towards the Rail Trail on their bikes. A teacher will be on duty from 3pm -3:10pm at the gate.
Assembly
Our next assembly will be held on Friday 14 March and we will have Year 1, 5/6H and 3/4R showcasing their learning. At this assembly, we will present badges to the new 2025 SRC leaders. We encourage all parents, friends and community members to come along to join us for this occasion. Assembly will commence at 9am on the hardcourt area outside the main building.
Nyatne baa Gobata
(Thank you and take care)
Mat McRae
Principal
