2025, Term 1, Week 4, Kilcoy State School Newsletter

23.2.2025

Acknowledgment of Country

This newsletter comes to you from Jinibara Land. In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples today. We are thankful to be able to work, learn and play on Jinibara land.

KSS Vision & Values

"We believe that all members of the Kilcoy State School community have the right to work, learn and play in a safe and inclusive environment."

Our STAR values are:

SAFETY - Taking Responsibility - Active Learning - Respect

Principal's welcome

Dear Parents and Carers

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter each fortnight and keep up to date with what is happening at school. It's such a great opportunity to share the wonderful things that our students are achieving and connect with you. As parents and carers of our students, you are incredibly valuable partners with us in your child's schooling experience. Your input is important to us, and we are pleased to see an increase in the numbers of parents joining our P&C and helping our school progress. 

Outside of School Hours Care (OSHC) Update

After submitting feedback from our Kilcoy State School families to the Education Department late last year, we received permission to seek the commencement of an OSHC based at our school.  This would provide an important service to our families and relieve pressure from other local services who have indicated to me they are at capacity and fully support our decision. The official call for tenders for our Outside of School Hours Care service was opened on 18/2/25 and will close on 17/3/25. In this time, vendors submit their application to the department to be considered. We will keep you updated with any further developments here. 

Annual Improvement Plan (AIP)

Each year, in collaboration with staff and community, all Queensland State Schools develop their Annual Implementation Plans. These plans identify the focus of development for the school, aligned with their existing four-year Strategic Plan. Having a longer term plan which is refined each year, ensures that we can carefully track our progress towards achieving the school priorities. Our 2025 AIP priorities are listed below and we invite you to work with us again this year, to implement, track and celebrate our success towards delivering Equity and Excellence for all students at our school. 

You can do this by attending our P&C Meetings where I provide monthly updates. You are also welcome to ask clarifying questions and make recommendations for the school to consider. While the contents of the AIP are only a portion the daily business of managing a school, by focussing on this very important work, we can track a direct and positive impact on our school progress overall. Towards the end of the year, we will begin this annual cycle again, asking for your input.  

AIP Focus area 1: The quality enactment of Version 9 of the Australian Curriculum, leading to measurable improvement in student academic achievement.

AIP Focus area 2: The development of a school culture which underpins a rich, engaging and consistent learning environment, prioritising excellence in curriculum, teaching and learning, resulting in enhanced staff and student learning and wellbeing. 

Breakfast Club Update

We have been providing breakfast each Wednesday morning for our students for many years now and using a generous contribution from the Queensland Government as part of the School Food Program grant, we are now able to extend this program to increase the number of days this is available to all students at our school.  From 10/3/25, we will be increasing the number of days we are able to offer breakfast. Students will be able to enjoy breakfast at school, from 8.20am onwards, each Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. 

The program provided $10.7 million for the Department of Education to support many state schools to deliver food programs, including the option for some state schools to engage a food program coordinator. The program is prioritised to schools in communities experiencing high cost of living pressures and food insecurity and is already making a difference. We are very thankful for this assistance to our community. 

Thank you to the parents who were able to attend our recent Sporting Parents BBQ. We appreciate the opportunity to access your support in providing many quality sporting events for your children. If you were unable to attend but are able to help volunteer at a one-off sporting event this year, please contact the office by emailing admin@kilcoyss.eq.edu.au 

Mrs Smith, our PE Teacher will then give you a call or send you an email to have a chat about what you are comfortable helping with. 

Kind regards, Mrs Belinda Nash. 

Upcoming events

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

In 2025, NAPLAN testing occurs from the 12th of March to the 24th of March. 

It is a nationwide measure through which parents/carers, teachers, schools, education authorities, governments and the broader community can determine whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community. NAPLAN results allow parents/carers and educators to see how students are progressing in literacy and numeracy over time – individually, as part of their school community, and against national standards.

If you have any questions, please contact the office on 5422 3333. 

Lisa Webster - Deputy Principal

3-6 Classroom Highlights

At Kilcoy State School, we are implementing Literacy Blocks in the classrooms. Literacy Blocks vary from P – 6 and have four to five components, one of which is Fluency Pairs.

All students in years 1 – 6 are participating in Fluency Pairs. The aim of this is to improve Fluency in Reading. Reading is one of the most researched areas of education (Fisher, Hattie and Frey 2017). Reading comprehension improves with accuracy and automaticity when read fluently. Students are required to read accurately, (sound out words with minimal errors), read at a reasonable rate (effortless and automatic recognition and production of a word); and prosody, which refers to the way readers use appropriate rhythm, tone, pitch, pauses and stresses while reading.

When students are working in Fluency Pairs, 'Partner A' reads the text aloud while 'Partner B' tracks the text, and they swap afterwards. The text would be slightly easier than their full reading ability. Fluent readers are able to decode words quickly and accurately, freeing up cognitive resources to focus their attention on the meaning of the text. (Hudson et al. 2005; National Research Council 1998)

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 10

Next

-Mrs Lisa Webster. 

P-2 Classroom Highlights

In 1B, our English unit this term focuses on sharing ideas and expressing opinions about characters. This week, we've been exploring a new imaginative text called The Lion Inside, which features two main characters: Lion and Mouse. We’ve been exploring the text to find evidence of Mouse's appearance, actions, and feelings. Using this information, we then wrote sentences to describe Mouse. Take a look at our amazing writing and illustrations! - Mrs Paige Somerville

P&C News

Hello Families,

Please see the upcoming events picture below for information on our upcoming meetings. Meetings are held in the KSS Resource Centre near the hall, and everyone is welcome. :) You are welcome to bring your children!

See attached the 2025 membership and executive nomination forms if you are interested. Please note: to be able to vote in new executive members or to be able to help make decisions at meetings, you must be a current member. You can become a current member at a general meeting. There will be a general meeting held before the AGM on March 5th. 

Being a P&C member is very beneficial to the school community. Not only are you helping out in various areas of the school, but you also get kept in the loop with everything that is going on, be able to express your opinion on certain topics and be part of decision-making processes at meetings. Not only that, but the smile that lights up your children's face when they see you helping out in the school is priceless. 

We hope to see you all on March 5!

- The KSS P&C executive team

Sports News

Please see the information below that was created for our Sporty Parents BBQ, held this week. We are still in need of parent volunteers and urge you to offer your help if possible. This way, we can continue to offer the wide array of sporting opportunities we do currently. 

-Mrs Joanne Smith

Support Teacher - Literacy & Numeracy

Supporting Our Prep Students in Literacy and Language

Our Prep students have been enjoying the delightful book Little Koala Lost by Blaze Kwaymullina and Jess Racklyeft. The story follows a little koala who gets lost and meets a variety of Australian animals along the way before finally finding home again.

For our English as an Additional Language learners, we are running small oral language groups twice a week to support their understanding of the stories told in class. In these sessions, students have the chance to talk about the books, practise answering questions in sentences, and have an opportunity to build their vocabulary in a fun and supportive environment.

Developing strong oral language skills is key to helping students become confident readers and communicators. These small group sessions give them extra opportunities to listen, speak, and engage with language, setting them up for success in their English learning journey.

Thank you to the Bilingual Aides, Mrs Sheila Maratas and Mrs Glezel Ladroma, for their invaluable support and dedication in assisting the EAL/D students in Prep through these groups.

Mrs Maratas and Mrs Ladroma are employed by Kilcoy Global Foods and are allocated to our school to help provide additional support for our students with English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D). we then provide training in how to support our students. We appreciate their help and are so proud of our Prep students and the progress they are making!

-Mrs Karen Burton & Mrs Nash

Community News

Thank you for taking the time to engage in your child's school life further by reading this newsletter. We appreciate you staying informed. If you have any newsletter suggestions, please email them to admin@kilcoyss.eq.edu.au.