From the Principal
Reporting
Many thanks to parents for the pain of getting signed up to QParents to access report cards. Once done this will be so much easier for many things for you and the school administration-office team.
The teachers have worked very hard on two things this term
- Moderating and calibrating student work and results against the Australian Achievement Standards and examples of student work to ensure consistency and confidence in teacher judgement with our colleagues. To help this we did some blind marking of students work from another school to benchmark our standards and this was most affirming and helpful. We also have some new rigorous processes of portfolio moderation, looking at fullest and latest evidence of learning for each child.
- Reporting to you in more detail by reporting Strand level progress achievement instead of generic comments; and
- Customising and personalising Behaviour and Overall comments to speak to each child’s Glow and Grow areas.
Yr 6 Senior Shirts arrive to much excitement
Year 6 students, and one in particular, are very excited about the arrival of their shirts for the year. Remi's shirt was the chosen design for this year and here she wears hers proudly. They are very much looking forward to getting some wear out of them in their last 6 months at primary school. The students will wear their shirts Monday and Friday.
We have also decided to do the T-shirt design process in Yr 5 during Term 3, so that parents can order their t-shirts by the end of year 5, and then they will have so many more opportunities to wear them during the school year as our seniors.
Reader’s Cup Team – huge success
Congratulations to our reader’s cup team.. one of the teams came 2nd out of 59 participating teams – very impressive and our best result yet.
They returned most proudly with their medallions on their chests. We are also very proud of how they represented Ascot SS.
An invitation to a quality presenter on the challenges of parenting in current times
Our recent Student Wellbeing survey indicated that how often our students use an electronic device in the hour before bed is higher than other primary school students that responded to the survey in 2025. The session below maybe of interest to our parents as we grapple with this. Below is some information we share and an opportunity for some learning you may be interested in.
Managing Screen Time for Children
Screen time needs to be balanced so it is part of a healthy lifestyle. Balancing it with physical play, socialising and reading and so it does not interfere with SLEEP.
Tips to help children use screens in a balanced and healthy way include:
- Making rules about screen use covering where, when and how.
- Aim for short screen time sessions
- Get your child moving especially outside. Australian Guidelines recommend the following amount of time for physical movement.
- Incorporate activities where children imagine and create without the use of screens
- Encourage face to face play and friendship with others
- Avoid screen time before bed. It is recommended that your child avoids mobile phones, tablets, computer screens or TV in hour before bed.
- Keep screens out of the bedroom at night so they do not interfere with your child/ren’s ultimate sleep requirements.
Additional information on this topic can be sourced through the following links.
https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents
https://raisingchildren.net.au/
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Acclaimed Psychologist- Karen Young- Parent Seminar- Holding Strong, Loving Boundaries (Including Social Media and Screens) |
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Dear Parents and Carers from Across the Brisbane City Collective Schools Big feelings and the behaviours that often come with them are part of growing up, but when emotions run high,even the strongest parent-child connection can feel the strain. Boundaries matter. So does connection. The challenge? How to hold your ground without losing your connection and influence in the process. As parents and carers, we want to hold firm, loving boundaries, but how do we do this in a way that deepens connection, holds them safely, and protects their willingness to turn to us? This seminar is here to help….. We have invited acclaimed psychologist, Karen Young, to Windsor State School to host a parent seminar on the evening of Thursday 14 August 2025. The topic of her seminar for parents and carers will be, ‘Holding Strong, Loving Boundaries (Including Around Social Media & Screens) While Preserving Influence and Connection’. It will be about leading with presence, connection and confidence. To view a flyer outlining the content of the evening in detail, please click here. This seminar, has a different focus to Karen's well-attended and well-received parent seminars from 2022, 2023 and 2024. However, there are some key themes that will be reinforced, as they are highly important for enabling our students to develop with our guidance and support as adults. There will be many key takeaways for parents, carers and staff to implement when working to support our wonderful students. Historically, these events have seen very strong ticket sales, so please look to opt-in early to secure your seat. Date: Thursday 14 August, 6.30 – 8.00pm Tickets are available for purchase exclusively via the Qkr! App via the below path: Windsor SS > School Payments > Payments > 2025 Karen Young Parent Seminar Don’t have Qkr! Please see the following link for set up information- How to set-up Qkr! Parents who are unable to access Qkr! from City Collective Schools other than Windsor SS are welcome to email tjohn353@eq.edu.au to notify of planned attendance and then pay via EFTPOS at the front desk on the evening. A list of all parents and carers that have paid via Qkr! will be kept at the door on the evening of the event as a record of who has purchased a ticket. Please present to the sign-on desk upon arrival. You may purchase multiple tickets in each transaction via the 'add to cart' function.  Ascot Mascot Winston greets you at the gateI invite you to notice with your children, our new Ascot mascot, Winston, greeting you at the gate on your return to school next term with our new signs. Part of building a deep sense of belonging is for children to feel welcomed at school, and while there is nothing like a human connection and “good morning”, Winston’s smiling face is a lovely start. There is a delightful book which our Year two students are studying this term called “If I built a school” as part of their persuasive text study with ideas to improve our learning spaces and school. It begins “if I built a school the first things you’d meet, are lots of excited puppies. They’d flock to your feet”. Thus, the inspiration for our signs.
  Winston started as our mascot for our Prep puppies and has gone on to become much more, as he is in real life.  New Oval shade sailYou will see that we have a new oval shade sail (and repaired pole), many thanks to the Dept of Education. Another two are coming for the Prep-loose parts play area.  Gates off underneath Admin buildingWith our improved security, we felt comfortable removing the gates underneath A Block-D Block. This will enable families to park in Pringle Street and move through to the Hall easily for afternoon and evening events. We are seeking grants to improve this area and the lighting.  More furniture donationsWe have been most privileged by more donations of free furniture as BFX clear their storerooms and stock on floor. See our new softer sick room beds and new staffroom furniture . There is also a few items suitable for the I block classrooms which will save us some $.
   Hobbiton – there and back again project continuesThe greenery and lights have been installed into the stage 1 area of our Hobbiton Visual Arts Project, courtesy of the Lowry Group’s generosity and collaboration with ASL Electrical. And doesn’t it look fantastic! Thanks to team for their workmanship. The students are so excited (even the boys who are a little jealous we started at this end, but I asked for their patience). This is all providing a fantastic platform for the students’ pottery work which begins next term. Teachers will be in touch to ask for helpers for their class sessions. Look for a feature in The Village Voice coming in the future as they follow this story. Today they interviewed our school and arts captains, and representatives from The Men’s Shed who are assisting with the woodwork.
 
    Proud Yr 4s celebrate successAs the teacher’s conduct their celebrations of success sessions – it is such a delight to see the pride on the students’ faces for their quality work, and listen to their explanations and understanding. Just two examples here from Harper and Myra.
  Tunes on TuesdayAnother successful student celebration with our instrumental music students sharing their learning and talents. I loved the narrative showing the growth of our year 3 students in “purple band” with Mr Porter, and the precision of the Chamber Strings and Senior Strings under the tutelage of Ms Sheppard (My favourite things is .. my favourite song – well second to Dancing Queen). Alexa brings such joy and energy to her conducting. Then layering up to the more sophisticated playing of the Intermediate Band, percussion ensemble and ultimately senior band. Thank you also to Bridget, Lisa and Luke. But especially thank you to our families who nurture the students talents through the hard times, helping them find their joy and their resilience in the learning process over many years. I do love hearing how nervously excited the children are, then watching their intent concentration, followed by relief and joy. Thank you for the pleasure.
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