Term 1 Week 6 Newsletter

From the Principal - Mrs Walsh

We hope this message finds you safe and well in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. We understand that many in our community may be facing challenges during this time, and we want to ensure that you have access to the support and assistance you need. Below are key resources available to help families recover and rebuild:

Emergency Relief and Financial Assistance
The government and local aid organisations are providing emergency financial assistance for affected families. If your home has been damaged or you require urgent financial aid, you can contact:

Community Recovery

Community Recovery Hotline................... 1800 173 349

General Enquiries............................................. 13 74 68

General Support

Australian Red Cross ............................... 1800 733 276

Gambling Help Line .................................. 1800 858 858

Lifeline .............................................................. 13 11 14

Seniors Enquiry Line ................................ 1300 135 500

Accommodation

Centacare Homelessness Service ........... 1300 672 273

HART 4000 ............................................... 07 3004 0100

Homeless Hotline ..................................... 1800 474 753

Ozcare ...................................................... 1800 692 273

QSTARS (Tenants Queensland) ............. 1300 744 263

Material Goods and Emergency Relief

St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland .. 1800 846 643

The Salvation Army............................................ 07 3222 6666

UnitingCare Queensland .......................... 07 3253 4000

Wesley Mission Queensland .................... 1300 920 865

Emotional and Mental Well-being Support
The emotional impact of a natural disaster can be significant. If you or your child need someone to talk to, support services include:

• School Counselling Services: Available for students and families—please contact the school office.
• Beyond Blue Info Line ........................... 1300 224 636
• DV Connect Mensline ........................... 1800 600 636
• DV Connect Womensline ...................... 1800 811 811
• Kid’s Helpline......................................... 1800 551 800
• Mensline Australia ................................. 1300 789 978
• Parentline .............................................. 1300 301 300
• Queensland Health – 13HEALTH ............ 13 43 25 84
• Relationships Australia.......................... 1300 364 277
• St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland – Statewide Assistance .... 1800 846 643

How You Can Help
For those looking to support others in the community, donations of food, clothing, and household essentials are being collected, for more information visit the www.givit.org.au website.

As a school, we remain committed to supporting our students and their families. If you need assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Together, we will navigate this difficult time and emerge stronger as a community.

Take care and stay safe.

From the Deputy Principal - Mr Horridge

Newsletter Term 1 week 6

2025 GRIP Student Leadership Conference

Recently all the EMPSS student leaders attended the GRIP student leadership conference with over another 50 schools and 300+ students. It was wonderful to see our leaders engage, not only with each other, but with students from many different schools.

This is unique conference in that it concentrates specifically on training student leaders for their role as SCHOOL LEADERS. The style, topics, and content of this conference all focus on what the students can do RIGHT NOW.

Students worked through a number of topics throughout the day in order to enhance their leadership skills, understanding and ideas.

Topic 1: The Responsibilities of a Student Leader

Senior students often hear people say “you’ve now got a big responsibility”. But what does this responsibility look like in a practical sense? Whilst this will differ for all schools, this topic will explore four key responsibilities that link to this year’s conference theme: the responsibility of being an example, a voice, a helper, and being willing to do what the school needs.    

Topic 2: Leadership Through Friendship

Being a leader is not about privileges, it’s about people. Using roleplay, stories and discussion, this topic will explore a personal leadership approach that all students can implement. These strategies include a focus on personal conversations, sharing responsibility, and making school life enjoyable for everybody.

Topic 3: New Ideas to Help Others

If students are going to put time and effort towards new ideas, it is important that these ideas help others in a meaningful way. This practical workshop will showcase dozens of impressive ideas that students have implemented at other schools, which are also realistic and meaningful. Activities during this workshop will enable students to have discussions with other schools, to share experiences and generate new ideas together.

Topic 4: Achieving Your Idea Before the End of the Year

This topic equips students with the strategies needed to take ownership of their ideas. It takes a practical look at prioritising, being realistic from the start, breaking down an idea into stages, and working on it as a team (without leaving everything to the teachers!) Students will take the first steps to planning their idea during this session.

Our students left the conference enthused with a clear vision, a solid understanding, and dozens of ideas for their time as a leader.

Grip Leadership

From Head of Cirriculum - Mrs Simpson

NAPLAN – 2025

All students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in Australia do NAPLAN tests in March each year.

Due to the recent weather event, there has been an update to the NAPLAN dates this year. Eight Mile Plains State School will be conducting NAPLAN tests on the following dates:

Writing: Thursday 13^th March

Reading: Friday 14^th March

Conventions of Language: Tuesday 18^th March

Numeracy: Wednesday 19^th March

Information regarding NAPLAN testing:

- NAPLAN tests students’ skills in reading, writing and maths.

- The test questions are presented in Standard Australian English dialect.

- Students read some of the questions and listen to others with headphones.

- The tests will get easier or harder, depending on how students are going in the test.

- Students in Year 3 will do the Writing test using pencil and paper. Year 3 students will answer the other test questions on the computer.

- Students in Years 5, 7 and 9 will answer all their test questions on computers.

- Teachers will help students get ready for NAPLAN tests.

- Schools will get their students’ results. The school will then give parents/carers a report showing their own child’s results.

- Parents/carers can talk to the teacher about these results.

- NAPLAN shows how students are going all over Australia. People who work in the Australian Government, state and territory education authorities and schools use NAPLAN results. The results let them see which schools are doing well and which schools might need help.

Parent-Teacher Interviews – Tuesday 1^st April 2025

Academic reporting involves communicating information to parents, carers and students about student achievement and progress for each learning area. At EMPSS, opportunities to share information are provided through Parent-Teacher Interviews, Student-Led Conferences and Report Cards throughout the year.

This term, parents and students are invited to attend a Parent-Teacher Interview.

Parent-Teacher Interviews will be open Monday 17^th March at 9:00am. A link will be sent via Schoolzine.

To access the booking system, please click on the link that will be sent to families via email, next Monday.

We would like to encourage all parents/carers to make a time and attend the Parent-Teacher Interviews. Parents who are unable to attend this time are encouraged to speak to their child’s teacher to make alternate arrangements.

Interviews will involve students, parents and teachers coming together to formally discuss the student’s educational development and goals. There will also be opportunities for parents to share information about their child’s learning needs.

Please note: Time is limited to 10 minutes per interview. If parents have additional concerns they wish to discuss, we would like to encourage you to organise a time to speak with your child’s teacher throughout the term.

Street Science Incursions

This year, our school will be engaging with the Street Science Team, who provide incursion programs for students at schools. Street Science conduct engaging and fun science experiments and activities aligned to the current phase of the Australian Curriculum. These activities aim to enhance each participating students’ learning experience.

This term, Year 1 and Year 6 students have the opportunity to participate in the following incursions:

- Year 1: Cheeky Changes Workshop on Tuesday 25th of March 2025.

- Year 6: The Energy and Electrical Circuits Workshop on Tuesday 25th March 2025.

Permission forms have been sent to Year 1 and Year 6 families. We look forward to having the Street Science team visit our school.

News from Prep A - Mrs Scharf



News from 2A - Mrs Nottage

News from 2/3S - Miss Koh

2/3S

In 2/3S, we’ve been exploring a wide range of topics in the classroom, making learning both engaging and fun! In HASS, we’ve been discovering more about the world map and how different communities are connected. Our students have particularly enjoyed collecting data through surveys, where they’ve asked their classmates about their favourite fruits, candy flavours, and colours. This hands-on activity has helped them understand how data is gathered and analysed in real-life situations. In Science, we've been investigating mixtures, and students have been exploring everyday mixtures like pancake batter, tea, cereal and milk.

In Literacy, we’ve focused on friendship stories, exploring themes of kindness and empathy. Students have enjoyed acting out these stories, taking on different roles and sharing their own experiences with friendship. This has not only been a great way to explore storytelling but also provided an excellent opportunity for the students to practice their public speaking and communication skills in a supportive environment. Alongside these activities, we've been learning about how to be a good friend and the importance of kindness in our daily interactions.

As we move forward, there are some important dates coming up that we’d like to share with you. NAPLAN will begin on the 12th of March for Year 3 students. We’re also looking forward to celebrating Harmony Day on the 21st of March, a day that promotes cultural diversity and inclusiveness. Finally, the Cross Country event will take place on the 2nd of April, where students will have the chance to show their athletic skills and team spirit. We’re excited for what’s ahead and can’t wait to continue our learning journey together!

Rochedale State High School Year 7 Enrolment for 2026

Key Calendar Dates - Rochedale SHS Year 7 Enrolment 2026

Harmony Week - Eight Mile Plains SS

School Photos - 18 March 2025

If you are paying cash, please come to the office and collect an Envelope and bring it on the day.   

Correct cash is necessary, no change will be given.

2025 Uniform Shop Hours

The uniform shop hours have now returned to normal trading. 

Hours are every Thursday from 8am - 9am for all of your school uniform needs.