16 May 2025

Principal’s Update

Dear Parents,

It has been a very busy couple of weeks with students participating in a host of extra-curricular activities and competitions with a focus on The Art and Sports. One of the things we are most proud of at Brightwater SS is how we offer educational experiences beyond the classroom construct. Whether it’s learning through an excursion, extending skills through workshop events that enable connection with students from other schools or participating in competitions, our students are provided with plenty of options to develop interests and talents alongside their academic learning. I would like to extend a huge “thank you” to the parents who assist our staff with coaching and preparing students for these experiences. We very much appreciate your support and advocacy.

Prep 2026: Yes, it is that time of year when we call for our next year’s Prep enrolments to come in. The transition into prep takes time and in order for each child to successfully transition into BIG school we begin the process now.

If your child is turning 5 years of age between July 1 2025 and June 30 2026 then they are eligible to begin Prep next year. Please make contact with our wonderful office team who will assist you with the enrolment process.

Parent / School Communication: Strong and productive relationships between parents and school staff is vital to ensuring your child’s school experience is positive, supported and productive. Educating a child is a team effort and we value open and respectful communication with parents and carers to support student learning throughout the year.

Earlier this year, families received information of our three main modes of written communication. That is; QParents – for general information and online payments, Seesaw – for classes to send out general messages, reminders and class information, Email – for appointment requests and/or personalised information.

For general information and event reminders please follow the school Facebook page and our fortnightly school newsletter.

Regarding school communication, you can generally expect schools to:

• recognise and celebrate your child’s achievements
• report on your child’s academic progress
• communicate about your child’s learning, wellbeing and development
• inform you of any serious issues concerning your child
• alert you on the same day if your child is absent without a reason
• forward requests needing your consent or payment
• provide regular school updates and notify you of school events
• offer opportunities and ways to give feedback
• request your participation in consultation meetings with school staff to review and create support plans for your child
• offer parent/carer-teacher interviews twice per year.

You should not expect:

• an immediate response to non-urgent inquiries - it may take a minimum of 2 or more business days
• staff to return calls or reply to emails outside standard business hours (including early morning, evenings and weekends)
• a response from staff to social media messages from their personal account
• access to teachers’ personal phone numbers or emails
• teachers to discuss school matters when not at work (e.g. if you see a teacher outside of school hours in the community)
• meetings with staff during the school day without an appointment
• to be allowed on school grounds if you have been aggressive or harassed staff or student
• engage in family disputes on school grounds.

We encourage you to contact the school if:

• your child will be absent, providing the reason they are away
• you are concerned about your child’s learning, social progress or wellbeing
• there are changes to your child’s medical information
• there are changes in family circumstances (residential address, separation, court orders)
• you notice safety issues or behaviour changes at home
• issues arise that may affect student and/or staff safety at school
• you need to make or change an appointment.

How you can help your child’s school:

• keep your contact details up-to-date
• read school communications
• treat staff with respect and courtesy
• use polite language in all spoken and written messages
• be open to ideas and willing to compromise if needed to reach an agreement.

Regards,
Robyn Taplin, Principal

Deputy Principal News

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Mother’s Day Morning and Mother’s Day Stall

Our Prep to Year 2 learners thoroughly enjoyed hosting their Mothers and other special adults in their classrooms last Friday morning. It was lovely to see that the heavy rain didn’t stop everyone from enjoying a range of craft activities, a bit of pampering and lots of fun! Thank you to our fabulous staff for supporting our littlest learners to plan and prepare this special event. We hope that all who attended really enjoyed the morning!

Thank you also to our incredible P&C for organising such delightful gifts for our learners to purchase at the Mother’s Day Stall. Our learners just loved looking through the selection of presents and picking something ‘just right’. Thank you to our team of P&C volunteers for helping across the two days – we so appreciate you all!

Under 8’s Day!

Next Friday we plan to hold our Under 8’s Day. We are so looking forward to celebrating with art and craft, sensory play, outdoor games, emergency services, and a P&C sausage sizzle! With the undesirable weather hanging around at present, we will communicate information around any modifications to the event on Tuesday next week. Hope you can join us!

Learning Walls

As we approach mid-term, you may notice that our classroom Learning Walls are emerging as valuable tools to support our learners with their learning. Our teachers work with students to create posters, diagrams, word walls and charts that unpack their English and Mathematics unit work and break down the steps to undertaking assessment tasks. Your child/ren will be familiar with the artefacts on their classroom Learning Walls, as they use them every day! We encourage you to visit the Learning Walls with your child/ren and ask them ‘What are you learning? How are you going? What are your next steps?’ I’m sure you’ll be delighted to hear how assessment literate they are!

Here are some photos of our P-3 Learning Walls:

Regards,
Jessica Lewis, Acting Deputy Principal

Learning in Full Swing!

Our Years 4 to 6 classrooms are buzzing with excitement as students dive into their learning this term! With routines now well established, it’s wonderful to see our learners settling in and engaging with their classwork with confidence and enthusiasm.

Learning Walls – Making Learning Visible

Have you noticed our vibrant learning walls? These aren’t just for decoration – they’re designed to make learning visible. They help students set goals, track progress, and reflect on their growth. It’s all part of helping students become confident, independent learners who understand the how and why of their learning journey.

A Busy Term of Sport Ahead!

This term is packed with sporting opportunities thanks to the amazing efforts of Ms. Pettifer and Miss Harvie. Our students will be participating in a range of events that encourage teamwork, physical activity, and school spirit.

Be sure to take note of the key dates in the Sport News section so your child doesn’t miss out on these exciting events.

Winter Uniform Reminders

As the cooler weather sets in, please ensure students are dressed appropriately in line with the school’s winter uniform guidelines. The following options are acceptable:

• BSS zip-up jacket or a plain navy jacket/jumper
• BSS tracksuit pants or plain navy tracksuit pants
• BSS navy V-neck pullover jumper
• Navy opaque stockings (tights) – please note that footless tights and leggings are not permitted

Lets keep warm, comfortable, and looking smart this winter!

Looking Ahead

We’re excited for a fun-filled term of learning, sporting events, and continued growth. Thank you for your ongoing support in making our classrooms places of curiosity, effort, and pride.

MCSHS Young Scholars Program

Our Young Scholars will be heading off to Mountain Creek State High School Thursday 22 May for their second visit to the school and will be delving into the Faculty Activities of Business & Lifestyle Industries, Maths and Science. The following visits will be on 14 August and 6 November in the coming terms.

MCSHS Transition and Enrolment Information

Parents of Year 6 students who will be attending Mountain Creek State High School please take note of the following important dates. Mr Baker from MCSHS will be visiting the school soon to speak to the students about next year.

• Year 6 into 7 Zenith Information Evening - Monday 26 May
• 2026 Enrolment Applications Due - Friday 30 May. 

It is important that parents enrol their child by the due date so that they can attend the full transition day when it comes around. 

Please contact MCSHS if you have any questions.

School Photos

School photos are being held on Monday 9 June with more information coming out in the ensuing weeks.

Regards,
Ian Marsden, Acting Deputy Principal

Instrumental Music

We are thrilled to share the exciting highlights from the recent Beginner Band Bash Workshop held for our Junior musicians at Mountain Creek State School.  

The workshop brought together young musicians from four different schools: Mountain Creek, Mooloolaba, Brightwater State Schools and Mountain Creek State High School. With 65 enthusiastic students taking part in a day long workshop the atmosphere was filled with energy, excitement and some nerves.  🎺🥁🎷

This workshop was organised to provide students with the invaluable opportunity to immerse themselves in playing within a larger ensemble alongside peers of a similar level. They had the privilege of working with another Instrumental Music teacher Ms Courtney Duncan and were guided by the expertise of Mr John Thomas, retired Co-ordinator of Band, Brass and Woodwind from Matthew Flinders Anglican College. 

Beyond the musical sessions, students engaged in some enjoyable activities including rhythmic games and creating their own rhythm raps which added an extra layer of enjoyment to the experience. 

A big thank-you goes out to our incredible parent helpers – Bryon Jeffery, Chloe Gallagher and Tanya Cox,  who generously volunteered their time and energy to ensure the smooth running of the workshops. Your support was invaluable and we are truly grateful for your dedication. To all the parents and families who joined us for the culminating concert, we thank-you for your unwavering support of Instrumental Music. We are certain you were as impressed as we were by the remarkable progress the students made in just one day. 

Overall, the workshop was a resounding success thanks to the dedication and hard work of our students. We are incredibly proud of their achievements and have no doubt that these experiences will encourage and inspire them to continue their musical journey with passion and commitment. 🎺🥁🎷 🎶👏

Musically yours.
Margot Payne, Instrumental Music Teacher

Sport News

District Cross Country

District Cross Country trials have been postponed due to the conditions of the ground at Maroochydore Multi-sports Complex (Fisherman’s Rd). A new date has been set for the trials on Wednesday 28 May. Miss Pettifer will be sending further details to Parents and Carers regarding the new date and venue as soon as it is available.

Senior Athletics Carnival

Our senior (Year 4-6) athletics carnival will be held on Tuesday 17 June from 11:30am-2:40pm and Wednesday 18 June from 9am to 2:30pm (Week 9). This day is about House pride and the students having fun with participation as the focus. The carnival will run on rotations with the timetable for the day being sent out in later in the term. Students that wish to qualify for District Trials will have the opportunity to do so over these two days. Parents are invited to come and cheer on their children and house teams. An information note with program of events and times will be sent out later in the term.

Discus Trials for Senior Students (Year 4-6)

An email has been sent to parents detailing training being held for the discus event. This Semester for Athletics students born in 2015, 2014 and 2013 can compete in Discus as part of our Senior Athletics Carnival. Students that wish to compete in discus and be considered for selection for the Coastal District trial will need to attend the School Trial on Wednesday 21 May from 7:45am to 8:30am held on the Main oval. If students are successful during trials, they will be asked to attend training. Training for this event will be held before school on the 28 May, 4 June and 11 June at 7:45am to 8:30am. The aim of the activity is to develop students' skills in throwing and understanding the importance of safety in athletics.

Please make sure you have filled out the activity consent form that was sent to all parents of students in Year 4, 5 and 6. For further information about Discus, please contact Miss Harvie on 5438 3111 or email jkhar5@eq.edu.au.

Junior Athletics Carnival

Our Brightwater Prep to Year 3 Athletics Carnival will be held on Thursday 26 June (Week 10).  Our Junior Athletics Day is about encouraging participation for all children with fun activities lead by our Teachers and Student Leaders. Students will start the event with a march past and sprint races followed by rotational activities. Parents are invited to come and cheer on their children and house teams. An information note with the program of events and times will be sent out later in the term.

Lightening Cup Preparation

The Lightening Cup Netball competition will take place in August 2025. All interested students in Year 5 and 6 have begun will  training on Tuesday mornings before school with Miss Trapnell and team. We will hopefully be taking 3 teams to attend the competition and selection for these teams will be finalised by the end of term 2. Preference will be given to those that show dedication to training, skills and teamwork.

Soccer Morning Fitness Program Term 2

At Brightwater State School, we provide our students with 5-star extra-curricular activities. During Term 2, we will be offering a Soccer Program before school.  This program will be available for Year 2 to Year 6 students. The sessions will be aimed at those who would like to give soccer a try and for those who already enjoy playing soccer.

The program has been delayed to due to weather and oval conditions. Sessions will begin in week 5 on Monday 19 May and will start promptly at 07:40am in the Central Covered Area (C.C.A) next to the café. The first session will be identifying your child’s personal best in a variety of areas.

Students involved in the program should have received a confirmation email from Miss Pettifer.

Your child must come dressed in their sports uniform with their runners (soccer boots will not be permitted), shin pads (must be worn) and socks on ready to start the session. Students will need to bring their school uniform and school shoes to change into after each session. They are to bring their bag to the session and will need to bring along the following items:

• A towel
• A water bottle
• School uniform, a change of socks and school shoes
• Shin pads and socks that cover the shin pads (for safety)

If a session is going to be cancelled, you will be notified on the school Facebook page by 7:00am on the day and via email.

Session Dates

Representative Sport

Carter B and Mason T were both selected to play in the Coastal District Rugby League team (11-year-old boys). Carter B was successful in being selected for the Sunshine Coast Team for Rugby League. Oscar S was selected to represent the Coastal District Rugby League team (12-year-old boys).

Charlie W is attending Regional Trials this week for Rugby Union.

Congratulations also go to Beau H, Elijah M, Joshua S and Maddison M for representing the Coastal District Football (soccer) teams at Regional Trials.

Kenzie W was selected to represent the Coastal District Touch team.

A huge congratulations to all of you from the Brightwater State School community.

School Messages

2025 Student Resource Scheme (SRS)

The 2025 SRS should be paid in full by now. Families who have QParents are able to view outstanding, and current invoices plus make payment via the app.

If you wish to discuss a payment plan please email office@brightwaterss.eq.edu.au providing details of your proposed payment plan.

QParents

We currently have 44% of our students active and linked to their parent with a QParent account.

Benefits of using QParents

QParents provides parents with 24/7 online access to:

• viewing attendance records
• providing absentee notifications
• updating address details
• advising and updating medical conditions
• academic reports
• some upcoming events.

Once we are close to 100% parent registrations completed, we will be able to start the process for:

Additional parent invites to set up as QParents Account Owners (QPOA).

There are 2 options for parents:

• Delegated Viewer:A QPAO can invite another person to view their student's information in QParents. For each invited Delegated Viewer, the QPAO will be required to nominate which information (e.g. report cards, absences) can be viewed. These can be changed at any time by the QPAO, including removing all access.

Note: A Delegated Viewer will only have view access and cannot update any student information or provide digital consent in QParents. If you are a parent who needs to be able to manage your child's information, it is recommended you are a QPAO rather than a Delegated Viewer.

• Registered QPAO:Please send the school an email advising the name of the parent you would like to be nominated as an additional QPAO for your student, including their email address. 

Online permission for excursion and events. This will mean no more looking in school bags for permission notes that have been sent home 😊

Emails inviting you to register were sent home on 12 March. Steps for registration process are via the link below.

P&C News

Greetings all Brightwater School parents, grandparents, guardians and carers

Mother’s Day success

The Mother’s Day stall was a huge success – we raised $3272.56 and had so much fun doing it!

The funds will go toward technology resources for the school and a shade structure for the market garden.

We’d love to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who purchased raffle tickets and supported the Mother’s Day Stall by allowing their children to purchase some of our beautiful gifts. A special thanks to the 14 amazing parents who generously volunteered their time to help run the Mother’s Day stall; Grace and Tricia from Camp Australia for their invaluable support, and many students who helped sell raffle tickets including Student Council representatives Ruby, Naomi, Luca and Layla.

Raffle Winners

We’re excited to share that Alice from 6AW was the lucky winner of the pamper pack, generously donated by Currimundi Whole Life Pharmacy & Healthfoods, valued at $220. Due to the incredible support we received from the raffle ticket sales, we awarded two additional mystery prizes. These were won by Mila in PMA and Levi in 5TT.

Under 8s Day

The P&C is excited to be hosting a Sausage Sizzle at the Prep-Year 2 Under 8s Day, on Friday 23 May from 8.50am-10:15am (Week 5).  We’d love your help to make this event a sizzling success! We're looking for volunteers to assist with:

• Cooking the BBQ
  
• Handling cash and EFTPOS payments
  
• Serving food and drinks
  

If you’re available and keen to lend a hand, please register your interest using the link below.

Thank you for your continued support – we couldn’t do it without you!

Cafe update

There's been a great response to our advertisement of the casual Cafe Assistant position. We will be interviewing next week and expect to appoint someone soon.

Join the P&C

Being part of the P&C is a great way to give back to the school and connect with other parents. If you are not yet a member or are yet to renew for 2025, please pick up a 2025 application form from

the front office.

Volunteering opportunities

Could you:

• Give 30 minutes to the Uniform Shop once a week or fortnight? We would love to open every day in Term 2 and all that’s needed is a few extra parents. Please email Caroline VicePresident@bwsspandc.org.au
• Join the School Disco organising team (the disco will be on Thursday, June 12). Please email Lisa VPFundraising@bwsspandc.org.au
• Join the Father’s Day Stall team? Dads, we need some blokes to join this event crew. Help us decide what gifts to purchase, and other tasks to make this event a success.

You’re invited

Members of the school community are welcome to join P&C general meetings, where working groups update us on projects and we hear from the Principal and other key school community reps such as Camp Australia. The next meeting will be held online and in person at the school on 4June, 6-7pm.

Secondhand uniforms

The school's uniform shop is located next to the cafe in the Central Covered Area (CCA) and is open Mondays and Tuesdays 8.15am-8.45.

Run by P&C volunteers, the shop provides pre-loved items at affordable prices. Most are $9 and sports jackets $18.

Volunteers and donations welcome. If you are curious about the P&C, please drop in for a chat.

Nicky, Caroline, Lisa, Jacinta and Josh
P&C Executive
President@bwsspandc.org.au

Contacting the P&C Association

Email: pandc@brightwaterss.eq.edu.au  
Facebook: search Brightwater SS P&C Association or visit the link below.

Date Claimers

School Information