2025 Term 3 Week 4

1. Welcome to Week 4

Principal's Message

We are safe

At Wallumbilla State School, ‘We are safe’ means we look after ourselves, each other, and our school environment. It means using kind words, walking indoors, following instructions from staff, using equipment carefully and keeping our hands and feet to ourselves.

 Importantly, being safe also means asking for help when we need it. In this way, our staff can support students and making sure everyone feels welcome and included.

 Sports Schedule Term 3

We have been enjoying a wonderful lunchtime schedule of sports for students to enjoy. Mr Mac and his helpers, Miss Babarovich, Miss Duncan and Miss Hicks have volunteered to make sure students can learn a range of old and new games during their lunch time. Many thanks to these staff members for their commitment to our students.

On Mondays, the whole school is able to learn how to skip under the guidance of Miss Hicks and Mr Mac. Most students have quickly picked up the basics of skipping and are moving on to more complex moves like criss-cross and can-can kicks. This week, students tried out double-dutch jumping with long ropes. Not only is it awkward swinging two ropes at once, but it’s also super challenging trying to jump them.

Tuesdays and Thursdays are for the high school students. They have been enjoying a range of games like touch, basketball and dodgeball. This week it’s Capture the Flag.

 On Wednesdays and Fridays, the primary school students have played handball, dodgeball and Rob the Nest. For this week, Mr Mac has planned Octopus Tag and Target Throw games.

Music at Wallumbilla SS

We are so fortunate to have a wonderful instrumental music program at Wallumbilla State School led by Mr Cahill. Aylah Steger has included an article about the recent workshop with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra last week.

This year, Mrs Dickson has re-introduced classroom music as a weekly lesson to the primary curriculum. As most of you know, Mrs Dickson is a real asset to our school bringing such a wealth of knowledge and skills to teaching and learning but also to the subject areas of music and French. 

This semester, Mrs Dickson has introduced our Year 3/4 students to that state school institution - the recorder. Many happy memories are being built by our students while learning how to read and play music on Tuesday in Lesson 3. Hopefully they are practicing at home as well. I wonder how many of our parents, grandparents and community members, like me, can remember learning the recorder? 

Amanda Leeson-Smith - Acting Principal 

2. Curriculum Corner

Primary Snapshot

Kindy/Prep

The K/P class have been enjoying creating art works that are related to the stories we have been reading in class.  Kindy students are very familiar with the school routine and are enjoying attending Parade on Fridays.  The Prep students have been learning how to write a sentence and what a sentence needs.  They are practising daily and making improvements!

Year 1/2 

In the Year 1 and 2 room we have been focusing on using our English learning wall to assist in our independent and group writing. Students have been moving to the areas they require and utilising the material. Students have also been engaging in paired reading listening and sharing what they have read with each other. Some awesome learning taking place

Year 3/4 

In Year 3/4 this week, we have been working hard in Maths. The Year 4's have been learning about fractions, decimals and place value as well as multiplying numbers by 10, 100 and 100! The year 3's have been practising problem solving by working on a maths investigation where they calculate the number of lollies needed to make lolly bags for a group – including researching prices, multiplying to find total cost and dividing into groups.  

Year 5/6

In Science, our Year 5/6 students have been exploring convection currents through a hands-on investigation using coloured water and ice cubes. They observed how warm water rises and cool water sinks, helping them understand how heat moves through fluids and how this relates to weather patterns.

Secondary Snapshot

Year 7 HASS 

The Year 7s have been learning about Roman Military Tactics in History - specifically about the very powerful Roman Navy. The kids were keen to see a comparison of a modern-day Australian Navy ship and Miss Cameron was more than happy to oblige. Miss Camerons brother, Lieutenant Cameron, was previously posted to HMAS Sydney V - one of the RANs destroyers. The students were able to directly see how different our military is now and make comparisons with the Roman Navy of 2000 years ago.

3. Health & Wellbeing Matters

School Based Youth Health Nurse News

The SBYHN service is available to all secondary students in state schools and supports social and emotional wellbeing. Wallumbilla's SBYHN, Emma, is a Registered Nurse employed by Queensland Health and provides whole of school health promotion, classroom education and individual student consultations that are confidential and voluntary within school hours. Students can self-refer, be referred by peers, school staff and parents. She can also provide resources and education to parents as requested.

If you have concerns or feel there is an issue within schools that requires attention, please let school staff or Emma know. Emma visits Wallumbilla every two weeks during the school term. Don’t hesitate to contact her if you have any questions or concerns.

Weekly Wellbeing Focus

As part of our Health and Wellbeing Program, each week in 2025 we have a school focus that is designed to optimise students’ learning and wellbeing. Our school diaries aren't just an important tool for communication and organisation, they also set out our weekly wellbeing focus in an age-appropriate way.

Each term we are using our diaries to explore the Berry Street Education Model wellbeing domains. In Term 1 our emphasis was on recognising and regulating stress responses in the body. In Term 2 our focus is one the importance of relationships to our wellbeing.

Term 3: 'Stamina', 'Body', and 'Engagement'

In Term 3, we begin by building Stamina through resilience—exploring what it means to learn from setbacks and how to reframe failure as a natural part of growth. Students reflect on the idea that “FAILure is the First Attempt In Learning” and practise letting go of negative thoughts by harnessing the power of positive thinking.

As the term progresses, we will revisit the Body domain with a focus on tools for both relaxation and regulation. Students experiment with using mandalas as calming tools, learn to recognise signs of escalation and de-escalation, and explore how movement, rhythm, and mindfulness support their learning and wellbeing.

In the second half of the term, we shift into the Engagement domain—highlighting how positive emotions help students stay engaged and find their flow. They will practise savouring what’s going well, seeking out “just right” challenges, and using strategies like brain breaks to stay present, centred, and grounded.

We finish the term by revising and updating our Ready to Learn strategies, making sure each student’s plan continues to support their growth and readiness for the final term of the year.

Not sure what week it is or what the topic's all about?

Go to today's date in the school diary to find out!

Term 3 Weekly Topics

4. Awards & Celebrations

Students of the Week in Week 2

Week 2 Reading Awards

Students of the Week in Week 3

Week 3 Reading Awards

Book Week  18 – 22 August 2025

We are having a “Guess How Many Bookworms in the Jar?” competition running throughout Book Week.  K-10 students will all get a chance to have a guess of how many sour worms are in the jar.  Winner will be drawn at parade.

We are also encouraging students to come dressed in a costume related to the 2025 Book Week theme ‘Book An Adventure’, or in a dress up costume they like.

Our whole school parade will be held in conjunction with the Book Week costume parade on Friday 22 August at 9am. There will be no whole school parade at 2.45pm on this day.

Book Week is a much-loved annual celebration of literature, imagination, and the joy of reading. This year’s theme, Book an Adventure, invites students, educators, and families across Queensland to explore the endless journeys that books can offer.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
— Dr. Seuss

Let’s celebrate the power of books to inspire, educate, and transport us to new worlds. Happy Book Week!

5. Student Council Notices

6. Arts & Cultural Activity

WWS Reading Target Tracker 

Setting a reading target is more than just counting books—it's about building a lifelong love of reading and learning. Whether it's a goal to read one book a week or explore a new genre each month, reading targets help students stay motivated and engaged.

Let’s keep the momentum going! Whether it’s one chapter a day or one book a week, every page counts. 📖✨

Queensland Symphony Orchestra

Recently, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra has been working with students that participate in the MMI Music Program at Wallumbilla. We have been honoured that this year they’ve come out yet again to work and play alongside students. The students worked all day with the QSO musicians on Thursday the 31st of July to create beautiful music that they then performed the night of August the 1st. During the Thursday, the kids would break off and work with QSO members that played the same instruments where they learnt new skills. The musicians taught the children tips and tricks based on the instrument, strengthening their understanding of the sound and music their instrument made. 
The night of the concert was a night to remember for the students and parents. The hall was filled with beautiful music. The students proudly displayed Wallumbilla State School with their band shirts neatly tucked into their black pants and black shoes. The students played two music pieces they had been working on: Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow and Dr. Rock. The students worked tirelessly to perfect these pieces in their band lessons on Wednesday and their workshop with the QSO that Thursday. The whole experience was great for the students to participate in and was such an honour to have the students work with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

- Aylah S

7. Sports Report

Congratulations to the following students for competing and being selected in representative school sport recently:

• Congratulations to Jorja T, Jordan J, Jamie Q, Lydia G, Caide H, Ryon B, Lauren H, Carter P, Thomas W, Hunter H, Hollie W, Lachie B, Ewan B and Lucy B for making it into the R&D Athletics team. These students will be competing at the South West trials in St George at the end of August.
• Congratulations to all the WSS students who represented our school at the Tennis Queensland Primary Schools Cup last Friday.

Well done to these students!

Upcoming trials:

• SW Athletics trials – St George – 28^th to the 29^th of August

If you have not yet received information about these upcoming trials, please see Mr Macpherson or Ms Warren at school.

Tennis Queensland Primary School Cup

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8. Parents & Citizens News

Tuckshop Helpers needed

The P&C is also in need of helpers on a Thursday. Without a helper it's not possible to offer the full menu - so please, if you have the time, come along and give Petrina a hand. 

9. Community Noticeboard