Newsletter 2 10 February 2025
From the Principal
Dear Families,
I hope you are all settling into the new school year. Here are some important updates and reminders for the coming weeks.
Parent Information Night – Week 5
We will be holding our Parent Information Night in Week 5 on Tuesday, February 25th. This is a great opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and learn more about the year ahead.
- Prep B, Prep/1T, 1/2S, 1/2M, and 2/3C will meet from 6:00–6:30 pm.
- Years 3/4O, 3/4W, 4/5H, 5/6N, and 5/6BP will meet from 6:30–7:00 pm.
All meetings will be held in your child’s classroom. We look forward to seeing you there!
Assembly in 2025
Starting in 2025, our school assembly will be held on Monday afternoons at 1:45pm.
Change of day for Newsletter in 2025
From the next fortnight, starting on the 24th February, our school newsletter will be sent on Mondays.
Special Assembly – Week 5
On Monday, 24 February (Week 5), we invite Year 6 parents to join us at assembly for the presentation of School Leader, House Captain and Senior Leader badges. This special event will take place at 1:45pm in the hall.
Enrolment Update
Our enrolment on Day 8 stood at 224 students across 10 classes. We are excited to welcome all our students and look forward to a great year ahead.
NAPLAN Testing 2025
Parents of students in Years 3 and 5 will receive information about this year's NAPLAN testing schedule later this week. As in previous years, NAPLAN testing has been moved to Term 1. The tests will continue to be conducted online, except for the Year 3 writing test, which will be completed using paper and pencil.
Regional Principal Connect Day
I will be attending the Regional Principal Connect Day this Thursday, 13 February, at the Calamvale Hotel Complex. This event provides a valuable opportunity to collaborate with other school leaders across the region.
Employment Opportunity
Narbethong State Special School is currently advertising for a Schools Officer – Grounds and Facilities. If you know anyone who may be interested in this role, please forward them the link to apply. Applications close on Wednesday, 12 February.
Again, thanks for being observant of our parking restrictions at drop off and pick-up times. To enter the school, you should only park at Gladys Street and enter the school via the bridge. Our staff carpark is also operating at reduced capacity and is not able to accommodate short term parking through the day. I appreciate your continued cooperation with these arrangements.
Thank you for your continued support of our school community.
Kind regards
Simon Vaseo
Principal
Drop Off/Pick Up Zone
Please familiarise yourself with our drop off/pick up and parking procedures.
The drop off/pick up zone is open and supervised from 3.00pm - 3.20pm. If all students are collected before 3.20pm the pick up zone will close and the gate will be locked. Any students not collected by 3.20pm will be brought to the office and parents contacted.
There is no parking in the drop off/pick up zone at any time, the Council patrols the area regularly and parked cars will be fined. Please report any illegally parked cars to Brisbane City Council on 3403 8888.
- Drop off and pick up is in Martin Street. Please follow the directions of the staff member on duty for pick up of students in the afternoon.
- Gladys Street is the best place for parking, if you wish to come into the school to drop off or collect your child.
- No parking in the staff car park or Metro South office building (next door on Cowley St) or the loading zone outside Metro South building
- Please ensure your child is aware of where they are to be collected.
Student Absence/Late Notification
Please advise the school if your child is absent or late by the following methods:
- Text 0428 679 117 before 9.00am, with the date of absence, name, class and reason for absence
(e.g., sick or late due to appointment) - Phone the office on 3435 1222 before 9.00am
- Email admin@burandass.eq.edu.au as well as class teacher/s
From the HOD-C
Tuesday 11th February is Safer Internet Day which is a global initiative to raise awareness of online safety issues.
The eSafety Commissioner leads the initiative in Australia. They educate people about online safety risks, like online abuse, how to be safe online and where to go for help.
This Safer Internet Day the eSafety Commissioner is encouraging us all to know and understand our roles when approaching online safety. They have provided resources for
In particular, I would like to highlight for parents and carers that the eSafety Commissioner’s website has a tab just for you. Under the Parents tab the eSafety Commissioner addresses many of the concerns parents have about their child/ren operating in an online environment, including downloadable resources and advice about how to activate parental controls on devices.
I would encourage you to look at the eSafety Commissioner’s website and begin or continue your safer internet journey.
Dr Rosie Scholl - HOD-C
From the Inclusion Teacher
Last Year we started looking at how to reframe our view of ‘Inclusion’, with the goal of turning a deficit model of difference into a community strengths-based approach to learning. This year we continue on our journey…
Firstly, a recap:
The deficit model of education sees kids as
- lacking in some way
- defective
- deficient
- needing to be fixed
- not as good as . . .
- needing to develop skills valued by mainstream society
The asset model of education approaches kids as:
- having unique strengths, passions, and interests
- being competent and capable in settings that are important to themselves
- having their own personal powers
- having much to offer to other learners and their school communities
- sources for educating others about their interests and passions
- thriving in a climate of differentiated instruction and support
- possibly not marching to the beat of traditional school design – but this doesn’t mean they are out of step
So how can we, as the Buranda State School Community, help?
In an education and workforce climate where there are no guarantees of a steady stream of employment, Dr Judith Locke, a Queensland clinical psychologist, says there is one trait that appears to be most important in mastering the necessary skills of everything – self-esteem. Focussing on children’s strengths should help build their self-esteem…
…however, there is a catch.
There are two aspects to a healthy self-esteem – doing well and feeling good. People who do well tend to feel good, and research has shown that the two traits are connected. Problems start however, when feeling good is seen as essential to doing well.
For children to develop a robust self-esteem, they must earn their ‘good feelings’. If we, as their learning community, artificially produce good feelings through constant praise, manipulation of circumstances, or by making sure children get what they want, not only are the good feelings rather temporary, they are not earned. This results in the need to deliver these experiences frequently and tends to make children reliant on others to feel good.
It can be tough to watch children face challenging situations but allowing them to navigate these experiences on their own gives them the chance to succeed. Through this process, they not only gain a sense of accomplishment but also develop important skills, build persistence and resilience, and learn that they are capable of overcoming obstacles. In other words, they earn their good feelings.
One of the most powerful ways to build self-esteem in children is to allow them to learn how to navigate challenges—whether that’s accepting their situation or finding strategies to improve the situation themselves.
Katherine Austine - Inclusion teacher