School resumes Tuesday 7 October 2025

Queensland Government website - Future school holiday dates

I am off to Perth for last two weeks of term 3

I am very excited with the impending birth of my 2^nd grandchild to my daughter Emma, and I have long service leave from 8^th Sept for the past two weeks of term to be there to assist with our busy grandson Hunter and life in general.  Gender is going to be a surprise.. but I can’t wait for games and cuddles. Simone is going to be acting Principal in my absence.

Have a wonderful holiday. Stay safe and have fun.

Our Pedagogies of Belonging Lessons:

Our focus for the past couple of weeks are personal social capabilities which really enhance collaboration in life and learning.

Listening

A focus of learning this week has been listening.  I keep this meme handy to remind myself as I can be a talker.  We talked to children about listening to people’s words, but also their tone of voice and body to see what they are saying and not saying.  Ultimately, listening is only effective if the other person-people feel heard.   And it starts with asking questions, and waiting in the silence sometimes.  We can forget to embrace that thinking silence in our busy lives, to just hold the space for the person you are speaking with to contemplate.

Synergise …. I really do love the word “synergise”… probably because it implies energy, but creative energy. 

Synergize is when two or more people work together to create a better solution that either would have thought of alone. It’s not your way or my way, but a better way. Synergy is taking good ideas and making them better by working together. Together Is Better

Affirmations related to Synergise:

• I value other people’s strengths and learn from them.
• I get along well with others, even people who are different from me.
• I work well in groups.
• I seek out other people’s ideas to solve problems because I know that by teaming with others, we can create better solutions than anyone of us can alone.
• I am humble.

Hobbiton Update

You will see some 3-dimensional aspects being added to our lovely Hobbiton scene with wooden flowers painted by our students.  Thanks, Jess, for coming to help Ms Chrissy Byers with the installation, along with some our seniors. 

It is taking shape..   It was wonderful to watch and listen to the “oohs” and “aahs” of the students as they arrived to use the toilets.   You will see Ms Byers has connected the paths up.  The Men’s Shed have finished restoration of both old Ascot seats and some wooden framing for the roof which will be installed soon.  Thank you to Brannelly’s Landscaping for their donation of offcuts of artificial turf to put on the “roof” of the hobbit house.

Another successful Colour Carnival

I am not sure how much funds were raised.. but it was certainly successful by any criteria.

• perfect weather,
• community vibing,
• students laughing,
• music and dancing,
• rainbow colours galore,
• students cheering on others,
• fun being had by all.

I do so love some organised chaos.    Many thanks to the P&C volunteers for their organisation and effort for our school.  

Thank you to the students who slimed me in the spirit of such good sport and to Councillor Julie Dixon and the team for joining in.  What a way to end the week.

Before

After

BYOD managed resourcing for 2026

We had a positive and engaging meeting with the P&C regarding students bringing own devices in yr 3, 5 and yr 2 mid year.    Thank you to those who came along. Essentially what I want parents to know is that we want QUAL time with devices and easier access when needed – NOT MORE time on screens but more efficient, purposeful, creative use of technology that enhances learning, fosters collaboration, and empowers students to demonstrate what they know in diverse and authentic ways.   

Prep 2026

Many thanks to all of our particpants for getting to school bright and early for our competitions.

We have one to go - 

Mathematics - Monday 25 August - 7:15 for a 7:30 start in the computer lab.

TAP-ID and PINs 

• You will be notified via email from the ICAS when you are able to access your child's results via the Results Portal using your TAP ID and PIN, which will be included in the results notification email.

We are back in the summer uniform  beginning the week after Fathers' Day - Monday 8 September.

Year 6 families - remember to keep your tie and one winter uniform for the Year 6 assembly at the end of the year.

This week we hosted a consultation led by the Fred St Architectural Team who fed back information gleaned from the workshops with students and staff.  We are very much interested in your thoughts and ideas.  If you were unable to make it on Wednesday you can have your say by jumping on and completing a few survey questions using the QR code below.

School Council report - Term 3 

The Ascot School Council meeting was held on 11 August.  The Council is an elected group of parent, staff and community members and its purpose is to guide the strategic direction of the school to ensure the best learning outcomes for our students.  

It is a busy time for the future planning of our school:

• The 4-yearly School Review was held earlier this term by the Department of Education
• Our Ascot parent and community feedback survey has been well received with around 50 responses so far
• The annual Department of Education annual School Opinion Survey is in progress 
• Academic results and NAPLAN data for 2025 are coming in

All of this valuable information helps shape the strategic plan which will be developed over the remainder of 2025.  Many thanks to those who have contributed their thoughts and opinions so far and we look forward to sharing the themes with you soon.

Francis Carroll

School Council Chair

Musical a success… we found Nemo…

What a delightful way to spend an hour.  The cast were amazing in their commitment and talent.   Congratulations to the production team.  Enjoy the pics

PRODUCTION TEAM

Directors ………………………………………………….... Laura Bartlett & Bridget Anese

Audio Visual Crew……. Charlotte Macpherson, Jasmine Powell, Zach Voller

A special thank you to our production team of staff and volunteers:

Sue Henschke, Loren Busse, Melissa Allen, Abigail Busse, Teneille Allen,

Amy Quek, Ra Green, Becky Clements, John Manning, Alayne Graham,

Jacqui Greensill, Demi Sibly, Brogan Hunter, Mark Fletcher, Lois Pagano,

Judy Colley

Year 4 Finding Nemo Crew (Set, Costume, Ushers, Media)

Julie Moore, Jacquie Lodewyke and Friends of Music and the Arts

These students impressed their teachers with their approach to learning in a variety of ways over the past week. Congratulations!

Metropolitan North Track and Field Carnival

Next Tuesday and Wednesday , August 26 and 27, Mrs Hunter will accompany the athletes who made the City District team at QSAC Nathan for the Metropolitan North carnival. Quite a few of our athletes will be competing in multiple events at the carnival and we look forward to reporting back on their performances. We would like to wish the following students the best of luck in their events:   Boyd, Taylah, Sophia, Ava, Katherine, Timmy, Charlton and Kaanish.

Interschool Sport Gala Days Term 4 (yr 5 – 6)

Gala Days are scheduled for Friday in weeks 1 to 3 of term 4 for year 5 and 6 students.  Children have nominated their chosen sport from touch, AFL, cricket, flipperball (modified water polo) and baseball.  When teams are finalised students will be told which sporting team they are in and who their coach is. Playing any of these team sports will give children opportunities to learn physical skills, work as part of a team, develop social skills and practise sportsmanship. Yr 5 and 6 students will receive the Gala Day information permission notes soon and these need to be completed and returned to classroom teachers before the end of term 3.

Our Year 6's recently visited Canberra for a week. 

The school would like to thank Busy at Work for granting us the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER). This allowed each student to be given $90 off their total trip to Canberra. (This cost was deducted from the final invoice) Students undertook the following activities in order to be eligible for the grant.

• National Electoral Education Centre
• Parliament House
• Australian War Memorial
• Museum of Australian Democracy

The students also visited Government House and National Museum of Australia as part of the Grant. By all accounts students and staff had a wonderful time and great memories were made. 

This newsletter section provides a great opportunity for local businesses to engage with our parent community. If you would like your business to be a part of this or for more information, please email us at comms@ascotsspandc.org.