22 August 2025

Principal’s Update

Book Week showcase

A heartfelt thank you to all the parents, carers, family members and friends who joined us on Thursday for our 2025 Book Week Parade - it was wonderful to share the celebration with you. A very big thank you also goes to our amazing learners and dedicated staff who made the event so special.

We are also grateful to everyone who supported our Book Fair. With over $11,000 spent, a portion of these funds will go directly towards new library resources for all to enjoy!

P & C Meeting

Our next P&C meeting will be held on Thursday 11 September at 9:00am in the office building. P&C members play an important role in the decision-making processes of the school and undertake a range of fundraising ventures throughout the year. All funds raise go directly back into the school to support our students. Many hands make light work and if you are able to spare an hour or so every month, it would be wonderful to see you at our P&C meetings.

Before and after school reminder

A friendly reminder to our learners, parents and carers that playgrounds are not to be used before or after school. By working together, we can ensure a safe and caring environment for all of our children.

Emergency procedures

The safety of your child and all children in our school, as well as the safety of the school staff and support personnel is very important to us. In order to maintain a safe environment for our children to study and learn, it is necessary that we practice our emergency plans by having drills designed to exercise our procedures. Each term we practice these drills (evacuations and/or lockdowns) so that we have procedures in place to respond quickly and carefully to a variety of situations.

Class teachers discuss with their classes the types of emergency drills and talk about what they will do as a class. The drills also include all staff and any visitors on site at the time of the drill.

Regards,

Bec Hutton, Acting Principal

Deputy Principal News

Dear Parents and Caregiver

Professional Learning

At Brightwater, Week 5 was Professional Development Week for our staff. Staff were taken off class for different periods across the week to participate in ‘Watching Others Work’ sessions and focused professional learning sessions where they explored wellbeing programs and strategies, extended their understanding about quality differentiation for diverse learners, and the Plan, Teach, Assess, Report (PTAR) cycle.

During our ‘Watching Others Work’ sessions, staff had the privilege of observing mindfulness practices from our Peaceful Classrooms wellbeing program in action in a Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 classroom. It was a delight to see teachers embedding practices around body-awareness and empowering our learners with strategies to find calm. Belly Breathing was a focus strategy with learners using ‘breathing buddies’ on their stomachs to support them to focus on the breathing technique. It was wonderful to hear our Brightwater learners sharing with the observing teachers about how much they enjoy their mindfulness practices and how it makes them feel. Check out these photos from this session!

During our upcoming Student Free Day, our staff will continue their learning about our Systematic Synthetic Phonics Program, PLD. We will explore some further elements of the program, analyse student data and create resources that will best support our learners.

P-2 Early Years Network

Last week some of our early years teachers and I attended the Prep - 2 Early Years Network hosted by Chancellor State College. We heard from the Chancellor SC Prep team about their focused work, enjoyed sharing some age-appropriate pedagogies that we use, and relished in the opportunity to wander through some Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 classrooms. These connections with other school communities are so important for our continued professional development and provide our staff with new ideas and the opportunity to connect with educators in other settings. Thank you to our Brightwater team members who gave up their afternoon to attend this networking event.  

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent Teacher Interviews are a valuable time for parents and teachers to connect and discuss the educational achievement and wellbeing of learners. This term our Parent Teacher Interviews will be largely facilitated on two extended days in the Hall – Tuesday 2 of September and Tuesday 9^ of September. Shortly you will receive some information via email with a link to the School Interviews portal where you’ll be able to book in an interview time with you class teacher/s. If the available times listed aren’t suitable for your family, please get in touch with you class teacher to arrange another suitable time. We look forward to this opportunity to continue to partner with you to strive for the best outcomes for our Brightwater learners

Year 1 Fire Safety Visit

Last week our Year 1’s enjoyed a visit from our local fire department. They learned about safe fires and unsafe fires, explored the fire fighter uniform and protective equipment, checked-out features of the Big Red Truck and learned essential safety practices and when to use them such as ‘Stop, Drop, Roll’, and ‘Get down low and go, go, go!’ Thank you to Firefighter Carl and Firefighter Jason (who is a Brightwater parent!) for visiting us, as well as our PE and Health teacher Mrs Pettifer for organising such an informative and fun learning session for our Year 1’s!

Prep 2026

Next week, all 2026 Prep learners who have had enrolment paperwork submitted to the office will receive and invitation to book in for a Prep Interview via a booking portal. If you have a 2026 Brightwater Prep learner, please get in touch with our office to obtain the enrolment information and paperwork so that we can organise an interview time for you.

Recently, we have been connecting with our surrounding kindergartens to book in transition visits for 2026 Prep learners. These visits began last week with a visit from Bella Grace Kindergarten and Miss Racquel. The children enjoyed visiting a Prep classroom for story time and tabletop activities, before venturing out to explore the playground. Further transition visits have been organised with Eden Academy and Bella Grace Early Learning Centre. Thank you to our current Prep learners and teachers for making our 2026 Preps feel so welcome.

Book Week Celebrations!

On Thursday we enjoyed gathering in the Hall to celebrate Book Week for 2025! The costumes were outstanding and the smiles even brighter! Our Prep-2 learners enjoyed parading their costumes around the Hall and across the stage, and our Year 3-6 learners joined in by standing to showcase their costumes. Thank you to the many family members who joined us for this special event. We so appreciate you joining with us to cheer on our learners. Thank you also for all your efforts in costume designing! Our learners had a fabulous day!

Regards,

Jessica Lewis, Acting Deputy Principal

=

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

• Ride Score began this week, you still have time to register. Go to the Sunshine Coast Council website https://ridescore.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/     
• Focus on manners and being a good human. In the hustle and bustle of today’s world (social media etc), it remains important to be a good human. This means that we display manners, listen objectively, build others up through encouragement, be respectful, be an upstander and the list could go on.
• Enrolments for 2026 - Get your enrolments into your chosen High School to make it to transitions. 2026 Prep and Yr1 to Yr 6 enrolments to our school office.
• Hats/Jumpers etc. the lost property box in the office is loaded. There are jackets/hats etc. in there some with names and others that aren't. Lots of $$$ have been spent and not necessarily lost. Take some time (or a bit due to the volume) to have a look or ask your child to come and have a look.
• Yr 4 Turtles - If you have some time you may want to ask to see the Turtle habitats in a few Yr 4 classrooms (not real turtles) as the real-world learning is unbelievable. Science = Fun
  

Yours in Education,

Phil Theofanes, 4-6 Deputy Principal

Student Engagement & events

PBL STAR Focus: I am Safe – I am in the right place at the right

This fortnight our Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) STAR focus is “I am Safe: I am in the right place at the right time.”

This focus is about helping students understand how being in the right place keeps everyone safe and supports learning. Whether it’s arriving at class on time, staying in the correct play area, or following routines when moving around the school, these safe choices allow everyone to feel secure and ready to learn.

Families can support this focus at home by talking about times when it’s important to be in the right place – like being ready for school in the morning, staying with an adult in the community, or being at the table for family meals.

Family Conversation Starter: “Why is it important to be in the right place at the right time at school and at home?”

Together we are building safe and respectful habits that help all of us to shine as Brightwater STAR learners.

JBK & Bullying No Way Week – 11 to 15 August 2025

Last week our whole school community came together to celebrate Say No to Bullying Week alongside our very own Just Be Kind Week (JBK). Students were treated to a special performance by Brainstorm Productions, where they explored the importance of values, respect and responsibility, and how to build safer and more positive online experiences.

A huge thank you to our P&C for generously funding this event so that every student could attend and learn these powerful messages. We also extend our gratitude to Agile Project Management for donating a purple wristband to every student and staff member, proudly displaying this year’s theme: Be Bold. Be Kind. Speak Up!

Together, we are building a culture where every word counts, every action matters, and kindness always leads the way.

Regards,

Jo Rothwell, HOD Student Services

Book Fair 2025

What an amazing week Brightwater had celebrating Book Week with our Book Fair! Thank you to all the families who visited throughout the week. The smiles on everyone’s faces made it all worthwhile. Special thanks to Mrs Glenda Gill and Mrs Annemarie Kimbell for organising the fair and to the P&C volunteers and teachers for supporting us to make this school fundraiser such a huge success.

Regards,

Louise Murphy, HOD Curriculum

Sport News

Lightning Cup                               

This week our three teams competed at the Lightning Cup in three divisions: Lightning Cup, Thunder Cup, and Boys Storm Cup. All students participated with dedication, effort and enthusiasm displaying Brightwater Star Values at the event. A big thank you to Mrs Trapnell and Mrs Stevens who took the three teams of Year 5 and 6 students to the event which was at Maroochydore Multi Sports Complex.

AFL Competition (Australian Football League)

Last week a team of 18 boys took part in the AFL Q Schools cup. Despite minimal training and experience the team did an awesome job coming up against some strong teams from other local schools. The competition took place at Kawana Eagles AFL Club at Meridan Plains. A big thank you to Toby’s dad Simon, who dedicated his time and patience to train and coach the team. Well done to everyone involved.

Prep and Year 1 Swimming and Water Safety Program

Next term (Term 4) is our Prep and Year 1 Swimming and Water Safety Practical sessions. This program is continuing to work towards improving the safety of our children around water. To do this we are working with Mountain Creek Aquatic Centre and the qualified swimming instructor from Alite Edvantage to offer a Water Safety and Swimming Education program.  This program focuses on water safety, with students being safe in and around the water including swimming, floating, treading water and safe water entry. Prep and year 1 students will participate in 6 x 40-minute lessons in term 4 with their last lesson a Culminating event open to parents to come and view their progress.

The program will run on the following dates with teachers publishing the class lesson times in their year level newsletter later in the term: 

Prep and Year 1 Term 4

Further details regarding the program and the activity consent and payment information will be sent out soon to parents of students involved.

Oz Tag

This week we have had Oz Tag Queensland come into school to run clinics with students in Prep – Year 4 during HPE lessons. The students learnt the basic rules of the game and how to avoid being tagged with turns and twists. The sessions were engaging and fun for the students with lots of interest being shown in playing the sport. There is a season of Oz tag starting in the next few weeks. Please see the flyer attached with further details if you are interested in keeping your child active in the spring / summer months ahead. 

Thank you.

Buntie Pettifer & Kate Bailey, HPE Teachers

Office Message

QParents

We currently have 56.8% of parents with active QParent accounts. We would like to introduce online consent however we need our percentage to be higher to add this feature. Online consent means no more searching your child’s bag for permission notes, you would be able to provide permission online via the QParents app. If you haven’t already completed your QParents registration and you need some assistance please contact the office.

Student Resource Scheme (SRS) outstanding payments

Payment for the 2025 SRS is now overdue.  We have recently emailed statements home to families. Over the coming weeks we will be reviewing outstanding invoices and suspending access to online learning platforms.

 If you wish to discuss a payment plan please contact the school office.  We are more than happy to work with you on a payment plan which suits your needs to ensure your child has access to items which fall under the SRS.

Messages for students

It is essential teachers and children are able to work in class each day with minimal disruptions.  We request, where possible, parents please remind or advise your child before coming to school of any changes to their normal pick up routine.

Please also let your children know if you are not at your usual pick up location the best place to go is the front office. We usually have children wait for approximately 10 minutes for your arrival and if you don’t arrive at the office by then we will call you.

 Messages phoned in after 2:00pm are difficult to deliver especially during weeks when afternoon assembly is held. Whilst student safety is of paramount concern, unless the message is of an emergent situation that cannot be avoided, we are unable to ensure messages will be passed on. Please assist in this regard by only phoning in messages for students in an emergency.

 Thank you.

School Support Staff Day

On Thursday 4 September we will celebrate the dedication and commitment of our school support staff who give 5 star support to our students, staff and school community each and every day. School support staff include:

• Teacher Aides
• Office team
• School’s Officers
• Cleaning team
• Technical (IT) Officer

If you are in the school please give them an extra big smile and say thank you to show these incredible staff members how much we all appreciate them.

Japanese Festival

Thank you for coming out to the Japanese Festival on Sunday 17 August!

It was so lovely to see so many Brightwater students and families at the event. I truly appreciated your support.

There was a variety of Japanese food, activities, stalls, and performances on the day, and I hope you all enjoyed the experience. It was a great opportunity for students to engage in a rich cultural celebration.

We had Nami (PMA), Umi(2DC), Zen(2LH), and Nikita(6KN) on the stage performing one of the traditional Japanese dances. They did an amazing job, and it was wonderful to see them showcasing their talent and embracing the culture. 

Once again, thank you so much for being part of the event on Sunday. I’m already looking forward to seeing you all again next year!

I apologise that I wasn't able to take photos of all the students I saw there, but you’ll find some of them featured on the event poster.

Machi Kanjo, LOTE Teacher

P&C News

Just be kind and say no to bullying

Wow, for those of us lucky enough to see the performance Zanna & the Lost Code its messages were spot on and it was such great fun for the students. The P&C was delighted to have been able to fund Brainstorm Productions to put on this event. We’d like to acknowledge and give a special thanks to P&C Treasurer Josh and Head of Student Services Jo Rothwell who drove the project. Josh’s company Agile Project Management also sponsored wrist bands for all participants, with the school’s message: Be Bold. Be Kind. Speak up!

A big thanks also to all the parents and volunteers who have helped fundraise to date whose help makes initiatives like this possible. And for everyone who donates to the second-hand uniform shop, which provides a modest but steady flow of funds.

Father’s Day stall – Volunteers needed

The P&C is excited to bring back our Father’s Day Stall on Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 September!

Students will have the opportunity during school hours to purchase a special gift for the father figure in their life. Items range from $2 to $10, and teachers will send out class schedules closer to the date.

Please remember to send your child with CASH and a bag for their purchases.

We’ll also be running a Father’s Day raffle with a fantastic prize up for grabs – more details on how to purchase tickets coming soon!

We need volunteers to help make this event a success. If you can spare some time, please sign up here:

Thank you for supporting our school community!

Crazy Camel Art Fundraiser – Orders Now Open!

Your child’s artwork is ready to shine – turn it into a treasured keepsake today!

We’re thrilled to partner with Crazy Camel, a fantastic Australian family-run business that transforms your child’s one-of-a-kind artwork into high-quality, heartfelt gifts — including calendars, greeting cards, notebooks, tote bags, and tea towels.

Not only are all products made right here in Australia, but every purchase directly supports Brightwater State School’s fundraising efforts.

How to preview and order:

• Scan the QR code on the flyer, or go to: http://www.crazycamel.com.au/37939
• Select your child’s class
• Choose your product, then enter your child’s name and class (as shown on their artwork)

Flyers with more information will be sent home soon. Sample products are available for viewing on the P&C noticeboard next to the Star Cafe.

Orders close Friday 12 September!

Deliveries will arrive early in Term 4 – just in time for Christmas gifting!

Thank you for supporting this fun and creative fundraiser. It’s a great way to celebrate your child’s imagination and help make a lasting difference at our school.

CALLING FOR RAFFLE PRIZE DONATIONS & SPONSORS – The GR8 Race FUN’draiser!

We’re currently collecting raffle prize donations and looking for event sponsors to help bring the fun to life. Here's how you can get involved:

Do you run a business?

We’re after kid-friendly prizes / vouchers. No donation is too small – all contributions are greatly appreciated.

• Scooter or bike
• Kids’ tech or electrical items
• Gaming accessories
• Activity vouchers
• New Toys, books, craft packs, sports equipment

Sponsor a country in the GR8 Race – a fun and easy way to support the event, even if you don’t have items to donate.

Donations can be dropped at the Uniform shop (Monday and Tuesday mornings), to the school office or send us a message to arrange a pickup - pandc@brightwaterss.eq.edu.au

Thank you from your Brightwater P&C for being such an amazing community!

School garden opportunity

Do you have half an hour to spare to water some plants or feed the compost? The school garden (next to the cafe) is used by Garden Club students during first break on Thursdays. Volunteers are welcome, both to join the garden club or tend the garden at other times in school hours. The P&C and school will be sharing its vision for the space soon and other opportunities to get involved. Contact: president@bwsspandc.org.au

These strawberries lasted approximately 7 seconds once discovered by the garden club students last week.

Find us on Facebook

Did you know the P&C has a Facebook page where you can find out about opportunities to meet other parents and get involved in P&C initiatives for the school? It’s a private group for parents of BWSS students only, and new members are welcome. Search Brightwater SS P&C Association to find us.

If you are not yet a member or are yet to renew for 2025, please email You can reach the P&C executive team by email: pandc@brightwaterss.eq.edu.au.

Next general meeting 11 Sept 9am

We’ve received feedback that the standard general meeting time of 6pm is not a workable time for many families.  The P&C will be meeting during business hours for the first time this year on Thursday September 11 at 9am. We plan to trial an alternating schedule moving forward, with two general meetings every term, one in business hours and one at 6pm. Please come along to whichever suits you or join online.

Uniform shop callout

The second hand uniform shop is run by P&C volunteers and is open Mondays and Tuesdays 8.15am-8.45am. It is located next to the Cafe in the Central Covered Area. Donations of pre-loved uniforms would be gratefully accepted and can be made at the front office if outside of shop hours.

How to join the P&C

Being part of the P&C is a great way to give back to the school and be part of its diverse and skilled community. With a busy schedule of events in 2025, it’s busy and social, and if you don’t want to volunteer but like to keep in the loop by being a member and receiving email updates we welcome you, too! 

If you are not yet a member or are yet to renew for 2025, please email pandc@brightwaterss.eq.edu.au.

Nicky, Caroline, Lisa, Jacinta and Josh

BWSS Parents & Citizens Association 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.  

Community Notice

Date Claimers

School Information