Big News for our own Simone

So, it was bound to happen.  The EFI (Education Futures Institute) Director Kerri Jones, called me, asking if she could have Simone to work with them on writing and delivering some Leadership and Teacher learning modules on Inclusive Education, and also then to stay on to present these to DoE staff from around the state.   What an amazing opportunity that was made for her… literally it seems. She, of course, is very excited about the prospect of such challenging and rewarding work.  So, at the end of this term, we send her off into the EFI to begin her work for 6+ months and likely longer.   Simone has been the backbone of our school for many years, along with Cindy, and so she leaves us with heavy hearts and yet a lightness of pride to pursue her outstanding work ahead and promising future prospects.   I know you too will be delighted for her. Let’s show her. Appropriately she will spend her last two weeks as Acting Principal of Ascot while I am on leave.

Principal Ponderings

Safe hands into the holidays and into Term 4…

I leave you in the safe hands of our staff for the final two weeks of the term as I head off to Perth with much excitement. Do enjoy the last two weeks under Simone’s leadership before she heads off on new learning and contributing to our wonderful and important system.   I can advise that Mr Kristian Crisp is returning for Term 4 (at this stage) as Acting Deputy Principal behind Simone. Kristian is a committed talented teacher, and a dedicated relational leader who will be of great value to our team in Simone’s absence. Do enjoy getting to know him.

Thank you too our parents for your hearts and minds during this year, it is such a privilege to lead you. I also have great appreciation for our P&C for their support and patience, and to our community for maintaining open communication about changes.

Acing Ascot … transition sessions for Prep students and parents

We had a wonderful response to our first Acing Ascot sessions with about 20 parents and future prep students coming for their first connecting session.  We introduced them to our prep for Prep focus skills in the first session with our Ascot Winston, and I ran a session on how we are building school culture and vision this week. More sessions to come as they are well received.

Eat Play swap 

Thank for your patience as the tuckshop take some more time to assess implications, adjustments and systems to enable us to go again on the trial during Term 4. We believe that there are many educational and social benefits for students if we can navigate our systems to align.  

Prep Colour Carnival = slime stories feature

I am pleased to know that the thing Mrs Baker’s prep class enjoyed most at the colour carnival was sliming me .. this featured very much in their recounts.   Great writing Preps.

Enrolments for Staffing 2026

Please let us know (rather urgently now) if your child won’t be returning to Ascot for 2026 as we are looking to get a clear picture of our student numbers and class sizes in order for us to determine class structures and staffing needs.

1:1 iPad information evening

We have set a time to invite parents to come to an information evening for more detail, including specification, management and purchasing for Year 3 and 5 for 2026. We thought it was appropriate to do this in STEAM week on Wednesday 29^th Oct - BYOD iPad 1:1 evening year 3 & 5 6:00-6:45 pm staffroom. More information to come.

Long Lunch 

The long lunch finally came and went with much success and gorgeousness.  The P&C continue to impress me with their vision and commitment to raising funds for our school in a way which is fun and satisfying for all involved. Thanks for the dance.

Debating success 

Ms Baker, Ms Green and Mr Price would like to congratulate all of the students who participated in their first debate for 2025; for two thirds of the group this was their very first debate! They had 3 wins out of 4 debates which included wins on either side of the topic – a huge achievement. We are so proud of our young debaters at Ascot and grateful for the time and enthusiasm everyone has put into the season so far. Year 6 performed proudly and won.  We look forward to hearing how they go at this week's debates!

I block re-opening a grand success

Well, that was exciting.  It was just so delightful to be surrounded by excited and appreciative children and adults.  Well done to our teachers who worked hard on designing Intentionally Inviting Classrooms where students can:

• Be focused
• Feel a sense of belonging and 
• Do things that matter with voice & choice

We are so very appreciative of this fantastic collaboration and example of synergy – where creativity abounds beyond the contribution of the individual.   The re-opening was an opportunity to showcase your cleverness and to thank all of those whose efforts contributed to this special (and first) project.  The cupcakes were also a hit!

• DoE paint flooring new walls and ceiling repairs.
• P&C for their faith, trust and funding to enable new innovative 21^stC learning spaces
• Ascot Sponsors – Harcourts who support school and P&C to help us realise such initiatives
• Tyrone Lowry – Lowry Group generous contribution – materials and time to the deck and greenery.
• Our OT Mary Nicholls and Physio Chloe Price for their practical advice
• Dr Jill Willis and Elise Bray from QUT for their knowledge and expertise on learning spaces for engagement and catering for diversity.
• To our local member Tim Nicholls for his enduring support in helping Ascot shine.
• And to our staff and students for their energy and commitment to quality.
• And finally to BFX – who provided wonderful creative design and input. I received a lovely email from the team “The refreshed learning spaces are truly remarkable and will no doubt have a lasting impact on both students and teachers. We’re incredibly grateful that BFX Furniture could be part of this wonderful refurbishment. Collaborating with you Deb is always a learning experience, and this project was no exception. We also gained valuable insights from the other teachers and contributors involved—what a powerful example of shared vision and teamwork. Thank you for taking us on this journey of transformation with Ascot State School and we're looking forward to learning more about the impact these spaces will have on student wellbeing and outcomes”.

 Do come have a walk by and peek!

Hall AV finally ready …almost

This year we have been upgrading the hall AV software and hardware so that we can use the screens and sound during assemblies, operating the screen and AV easily from the stage from a laptop or an iPad. This means that we and our captains can adjust the PowerPoint template each week on MS Teams as they are keen to do more short images and videos etc to capture the focus of learning, the celebrations, and to promote upcoming events.  (Just some work to do on getting the speakers-sound right but so far it is a hit.)

70^th Year graduating anniversary visit

They graduated from Ascot SS at 14 years of age into the world, at a time when girls had a small corner of the oval to play on only, and were punished with a cane to the back of the legs, or worse when they had their skirts pulled up and were caned …  our yr 6 students could not even imagine.  Our reunion visitors loved the visit and reminiscing, and particularly enjoyed the children’s interest engagement and stories, and my favourite scene from the musical “Finding Nemo”.  Thank you to all those involved for helping the visit be special for our 84 year olds.  Ps there was an Ascot chant (which I did record him performing).  Our new anthem is better… keep reading.

Ascot Anthem – Ascot Awesome

So, a very talented family have been inspired by Ascot’s enthusiasm for music and written us our very own Ascot Anthem. The children are very much enjoying it and Ms Anese will teach the children the lyrics which I share with you here now to read.     Ascot is AWESOME!

Reminder:  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 her partner Dan), and I have long service leave for these final two weeks to be there to assist with our busy grandson Hunter and life in general.  Gender is going to be a surprise for all of us.. but I can’t wait for games, giggles, talking and cuddles. I am sure you will have a settled end of term.

Have a wonderful holiday. Stay safe and have fun.

Book Week

What an awesome week.. I love dressing up and books..

It was so fabulous to see the support of parents and feel the student’s energy today. 

Thank you to author Emily Serow for sharing her beautiful book with us on this special week.

Thought for the week to take you into the holidays “My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. The effect you have on others’ lives is the highest expression of your own.”

Opti-Minds Regional Competition

On Sunday a group of six Year 5 students and one Year 4 student entered Opti-Minds regional challenge. Our team was called the “Junior Intelli-bots”. We were given a topic about Artificial Intelligence and had seven weeks to plan and write a script about how we use AI with integrity.

Our presentation was set in the future in a family home. The family used an AI robot to look after the two children whilst the parents were out for the day. The children and the robot had problems to solve, sometimes the AI robot didn’t make the best decisions and the children had to think whether it was right to follow or come up with a new plan.

The team also competed in a spontaneous challenge. We were given 10 minutes to come up with a solution to a scenario.

We learnt how to work together, it was fun to work with Mrs Beveridge, be creative, make props out of recycled materials and perform in a 3 x 3 metre square. Ms Green also helped judge other groups on the day.

Our team received first place and will be competing in the Opti-Minds State Championships in October. We will be preparing for the next few weeks. Thank you to our coach Mrs Beveridge for her support.

Aadhya 5B

Book Week 2025 – It’s a Wrap!

What a wonderful term we’ve had celebrating the magic of reading and stories! The highlight was our whole-school assembly on Friday 22 August to celebrate Book Week 2025, where students and staff brought favourite stories to life by dressing up as beloved book characters. The costumes were colourful, creative and full of personality – from superheroes to fairytale figures, wizards to woodland creatures – it was a true showcase of how much our school community values books and imagination.

A big thank you to Year 6 leaders – who did an outstanding job introducing this year’s theme, “Book an Adventure” and sharing engaging summaries of the six shortlisted Children’s Book Council of Australia Early Childhood picture books, which our students read and voted on.

We were very fortunate to welcome local author Emily Serow, creator of a delightful picture book starring cheeky koala characters Kirra and Coco. Emily captivated students during a special read-aloud session in the Library at first break, filling the room with curiosity and questions about writing and the koala characters. Throughout the day, Emily worked closely with our Prep and Year 1 students, running engaging workshops about the writing process and the steps involved in publishing a picture book. Her visit not only inspired our youngest learners but also reminded all of us about the creativity and hard work that goes into bringing a story to life.

Prep and Year 1 Colouring Competitions winners Sienna (PB) and Abigail (1C) were presented their book prizes by Emily at our Assembly, while Abigail (2B) won the ‘Guess the Bookworms in the Jar’ competition, receiving a full jar of bookworms (aka sour worms) along with a book prize. Thanks for your amazing efforts!

Congratulations also to Meibusch House, who proudly won the Ascot State School Reading Challenge Bookworm Battle trophy. What a fantastic achievement – well done, readers!

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make Book Week 2025 such a success – from staff and families supporting costumes, to students who joined in with such enthusiasm, and to Emily Serow for sharing her time and talent with us. Together, we’ve celebrated the joy of reading, and we can’t wait to see what stories next year’s Book Week will bring!

Have fun reading

Meredith

Library Team

Congratulations to these students who are mastering our school expectations and earnt a Boarding Pass that put them into our weekly draw at Assembly. With thanks to the P & C for their support, our winners receive an ice block or home bake from the Tuckshop.

JOIN US THIS FRIDAY! ASCOT DAD'S NIGHT OUT IS BACK!

After a fantastic evening last year, we’re excited to bring the Ascot Dads' Night Out back—this time at By.Artisans in West End.

Join us after work on Friday for a relaxed and social evening to catch up, meet new faces and enjoy some top-notch drinks and food.

Tickets are $50 per person, which includes:

• A complimentary welcome drink (or maybe two)
• Guided gin tasting experience
• Delicious charcuterie and cheese share platters

Whether you're a regular or it's your first time, we’d love to see you there for a great night out with fellow dads from our school community so click below to book your ticket.

https://events.humanitix.com/dad-s-night-out-2025

THANK YOU FOR A FANTASTIC ASCOT LONG LUNCH!

What a spectacular day it was for our Ascot Long Lunch! With beautiful winter sunshine setting the scene, it was wonderful to see such a large turnout of Ascot parents coming together to celebrate and support our amazing school.

Congratulations to all our winners—whether you struck gold with the Treasure Chest, had a lucky spin at the bar or were one of the successful bidders taking home the stunning year-level art pieces. Thank you also to everyone who participated in the Online Auction helping to raise valuable funds while securing some incredible items generously donated by members of our school and local community.

A heartfelt thank you goes to the fantastic team at Harcourts Local, our Principal sponsor, who went above and beyond—providing everything from bar staff to the emcee and auctioneers on the day. We also extend our sincere thanks to Lowry Group, our Platinum Sponsor, and to Cr Julia Dixon for joining us and being part of the celebration.

Events like this truly highlight the strength and spirit of our Ascot community—thank you for making it such a memorable occasion!