Hello Fernbrooke Community,

I want to thank the community for their understanding and patience over the last four school days as we all rode through the event that was ‘Cyclone Alfred’. We were fortunate to not experience any damage to our facilities. Unfortunately, majority of our staff had road closures where they live, therefore limiting their access to travel to school on Monday and Tuesday. We also had some staff experience damage to their property.  I hope you and your family were not affected by the weather. If you were affected, my thoughts are with you, and please reach out if you think we can assist your child. Again, I thank you all for your understanding and can openly express that we are all happy to be back with the students.

Fernbrooke SS – 2025 Explicit Improvement Agenda

Every year, each school is required to implement an Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) to guide the practices and processes to further improve the school’s overall performance. School performance is measured against a number of parameters. For me and the staff at Fernbrooke SS, our measures of success are, ‘Are we providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all students to achieve progress academically and socially.’

A focus on continuous improvement on how we teach and respond to the needs of students is the priority. Over the last few years, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), have updated the design of the Australian Curriculum (AC) to ensure that we are addressing the skills and knowledge that our students require today and in the future.

As we continue to plan and teach all learning areas with rigour, this year we are looking to further develop and provide students with an engaging delivery of the English curriculum and the associated literacy skills that are transferable across all learning areas. Since last week you will see posters in and around the school promoting what our explicit improvement agenda is for 2025. If you have not yet seen the graphic, it is below:

As the year progresses, I look forward to report back the school community on how we are progressing with our improvement agenda.

2025 Fernbrooke SS P&C

Due to the weather event, we were not able to have our ‘meet and greet’ session to discuss the re-establishment of the P&C. Next week I will forward some communication with a new date and time to have the ‘meet and greet’ to discuss the future of the P&C at Fernbrooke SS.

Have a great fortnight,

Scott

Principal

Fernbrooke State School STARS awards are handed to students by their class teacher and acknowledged at their assembly. Students are nominated by their class teacher. Each week Fernbrooke STARS recipients are shared in the newsletter. All Fernbrooke students are STARS because they are Safe, are Thinkers, Attend school, are Respectful and Successful learners.  As a community, we congratulate all these students in their efforts to Exceed Expectations.

Payment window/Uniform Shop open daily from 8.00am – 10.00am.

If paying with cash, please have the correct amount.  No cash is kept on site.

If you haven’t signed up for QParents Consent, please chat with the Office staff to assist with having this set up for your child/ren.  This is the preferred way of receiving permission to attend excursions etc.

Please note that payment for an excursion does not count as permission to attend. Education Queensland requires caregiver approval, which must be given either through QParents or a paper permission form.

Statements are sent at the beginning of each month.  A statement is a list of invoices or credits on your child’s school account.  A minus indicates a credit  eg. -20.00

Parents and visitors must use the front door to access the Office.  The back door is for students and staff only

If your child is absent, please use the absence line (38197466) rather than tying up the phone line. 

For early pick ups, students must be collected either side of the break times which are –

10.30am – 11.15am

1.00pm – 1.30pm

IMPORTANT NEWS!!

CHANGES TO THE UNIFORM SHOP!!!!

Next Term the Uniform Shop will be operated by an outside provider.  Orders and payment will be available online and the Shop will be open 2 days a week in a designated area next to the Tuckshop. 

Further information to come!

Welcome to Week 7 – Early Years (Prep to Year 2)

Our Early Years learners are working hard and truly shining as Fernbrooke Stars. With only four weeks to go until the end of the term, there is still so much to do!

Cyclone Alfred – Our Thoughts Are With You

I hope this message finds you and your families safe and well following Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Our thoughts have been with all those affected, and we trust that you are now through the worst of the weather and settling back into routine.

Upcoming Events in Term 1

As we move into the final four weeks of the term, we have many exciting events ahead:

• Weeks 7–9: Swimming lessons for Year 1 and Year 2
• Week 8: Parent-Teacher Interviews – Monday, 17th March
• Week 9: Cultural Themed Disco
• Week 10: Celebration of Learning Days and the Easter Hat Parade (Prep only)

Further details about these events will be shared soon.

Parent-Teacher Interviews – Monday, 17 March 2025

Our Semester 1 Parent-Teacher Interviews will take place on Monday, 17 March 2025, from 2:45 pm – 5:30 pm. You may choose to attend in person at the school or have a phone consultation. Each interview will last approximately 10 minutes and provides a valuable opportunity to discuss your child’s progress and ways to support their learning.

Swimming Lessons for Years 1 & 2 (Weeks 7–9)

Swimming lessons will commence in Week 7 and continue through Weeks 8 and 9. Sessions will be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays, depending on your child’s class schedule. A detailed timetable will be shared soon.

? Lesson Dates:

• Tuesdays: 18th, 25th March
• Wednesdays: 12th, 19th, 26th March
• Thursdays: 13th, 20th, 27th March

? Location: Goodna Aquatic Centre (137 Brisbane Terrace, Goodna 4300)
? Transport: Students will travel by a seat-belted bus under teacher supervision.

? What to Bring:

• Towel (named), swimwear, and optional goggles
• Swimming cap (required for students with shoulder-length or longer hair)
• Thongs/slip-on shoes for travel
• Plastic bag for wet clothes

We are also working with the pool to organise a make-up session for students who missed their lesson on Tuesday the 11March due to the school closure. We will provide updates once details are finalised.

We look forward to catching up with families during Parent-Teacher Interviews in Week 8 and sharing in the exciting events planned for the remainder of the term. Thank you for your ongoing support—we appreciate everything you do to help our students Exceed Expectations!

Warm regards
Theresa Parker
Deputy Principal – Early Years

What does Week 7 look like in the Middle Years?

After a very unusual and interesting few days, we are back on track to complete the term. None of us anticipated what the cyclone would bring to SE Queensland, let alone 4 days off school as the community recovered from its effects. I hope that none of you were significantly affected by the wind, rain and subsequent localised flooding in and around Ipswich.

This week sees swimming start for Year 4 which will run through to Week 9. Please make sure that you name all of your child’s belongings as this is the time that our lost property skyrockets due to unnamed and unclaimed clothing. You would be surprised at the number of children who manage to misplace their clothes, towels, uniform, socks and undies. While every effort is made by your child’s teacher to not have items left unclaimed, it inevitably happens. Please make sure that you pack a large plastic bag for your child’s wet clothes to go home in otherwise there will be a very wet and stinky school bag coming home to contend with. It is also a good idea to pack your child’s swimming bag yourself so that they can participate without having left something at home like their swimmers, towel, thongs, goggles, etc.

Parent Teacher Interviews are this Monday the 17^th of March from 2.45pm to 5.30pm. Many parents have booked their 10-minute timeslot already which is great to see. If you haven’t yet done so, please book it online as soon as possible. You can choose to come in and have it face to face or over the phone. The choice is yours.

NAPLAN has been pushed back to commence next Monday the 17^th of March for our Year 3 students due to the interruption caused by TC Alfred. The children will sit 4 sessions – Writing, Reading, Language Conventions (spelling, punctuation and grammar) and Mathematics. Any child that is absent for a scheduled test will have the opportunity to make it up on their return to school as long as it falls within the time period allowed by the testing authority. We only have a set number of days to allow this to happen so I encourage you to have your child at school every day next week and on time as the tests start at 9am sharp. When students arrive late for their test, they often experience unnecessary anxiety because of this. That can be easily avoided by having them at school for an 8.30am start.

Finally, our Year 3 Street Science incursion for Year 3 has been postponed for a second time due to the cyclone and will now occur on Monday 31 March in Week 10.

See you on the crossing…

Shane Hancock

Deputy Principal – The Middle Years

After our short break, the students in Year 5 and Year 6 have returned to school today and settled into routine quickly. 

Year 6 Swimming

The Year 6 classes attended their first swimming lesson today and enjoyed the opportunity to be in the water rather than watching it fall from the sky.

Year 5 NAPLAN

Our Principal, Scott Medford recently sent an all parents of Year 3 and Year 5 students an email regarding our decision to delay the start of the NAPLAN testing. This decision was made because we believe your child’s welfare is the most important thing and we want our students to be back in the school routine to set them up for success before we begin testing.  We are doing everything we can to reassure students that NAPLAN is a normal part of school, and that participating and just trying your best are the most important things. We appreciate your help in reinforcing these messages at home. Should you have any concerns or questions about NAPLAN please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher or myself.

Year 6 Camp

Year 6 students have until the end of next week, Friday March 21 to commit to camp with a $50 deposit. Once out final numbers are determined a decision can be made, in consultation with the staff at Camp Goodenough, whether we have enough students to proceed with this camp.  If our numbers are adequate, we will send out a note with more information and the final cost.

Parent Teacher Interviews

Our Semester 1, Parent Teacher Interviews are scheduled for Monday, March 17.  Each interview will last about ten minutes and will be scheduled between 2:45 pm and 5:30 pm. The online booking system will open at 9:00 am on Friday, 21 February 2025. If you have not already booked an interview time please visit www.schoolinterviews.com.au and enter the code: x9yhb If you cannot find a suitable time slot through the online booking system, please contact your child’s teacher to arrange an alternative.

Senior Shirts

The window to order your senior shirt has been extended to Friday, March 14 – by 10am.  Please ensure that you send in both the order form and the payment together.  This will be the final opportunity to purchase these shirts in 2025.

Week 6 & 7 PBL Focus: Respectful – We allow adults to teach and students to learn.

Pause Focus: Hand model of the brain. 

 

Parent Teacher Interviews
Miss Curwen will be floating around at Parent Teacher Interviews in week 8 if you wish to catch her to discuss PBL or Pause and how you can adapt it to your routines at home.   

Notices
Marketplace is open every Tuesday and Thursday at 2^nd break for students to spend their Perry Points. We are getting close to the end of the term, which means students might be saving up for the All-Stars Sport Game or Perry’s Morning Tea!

Celebration of Learning Day is creeping up on us and is booked in for Friday in Week 10. The activity is still a surprise, but I’m sure your students will be rushing home to tell you once they know! Their teacher’s might even want to join in the fun for this one.

Well done to all of our Fernbrooke students who have recently attended Central Comets district sports trials. A huge congratulations to the following students who were successful in making their respective district teams and best of luck at the regional trials.

Billy-Rose - u10/11 Netball

Eden - u10/11 Netball

Kyanna - u11/12 Netball

Indira - u10/12 Girls Basketball

Calvin - u10/11 Rugby League

Hinckley - u10/11 Rugby League

Payton - u10/11 Rugby League

Eroni - u11/12 Rugby League