Newsletter 3 24 February 2025
From the Principal
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Here’s our first Monday newsletter for 2025.
Parent Information Night – Tuesday 25 Feb
We will be holding our Parent Information Night, tomorrow - 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. Today we were joined by year 6 families for our leadership badge presentations.
NAPLAN Testing 2025
Parents of students in Years 3 and 5 have received information about this year's NAPLAN testing schedule . 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.
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.
Our Business Manager Doreen Holland is on unexpected leave for the rest of term 1. We thank Tracy Allan for acting as Business Manager during Doreen’s absence.
Please remember the P&C AGM meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 5 March, 6.15pm in the library.
Finally, we have a school Facebook page. My thanks to our staff member Eden Douglas for getting the page up and running- follow the link to like us for updates and information https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085336500602
Have a great week.
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
NAPLAN
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a literacy and numeracy assessment that students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit each year. The Information for Parents and Carers factsheet offers parents information about why students do NAPLAN, what it assesses, how it is administered and when it is administered. A simplified NAPLAN factsheet is also available. Beyond these fact sheets the NAPLAN website for parents and carers also provides a number of translations of the NAPLAN factsheet.
Students are not expected to study for NAPLAN. You can support your child by reassuring them that NAPLAN is a part of their school program and reminding them to simply have a go at every question and do their best. Some explanation of NAPLAN is useful to help students understand and be comfortable with the format of the tests. Teachers will ensure students are familiar with the types of questions in the tests and will provide appropriate support and guidance.
At Buranda we will do the NAPLAN tests online and we encourage students in Years 3 and 5 to have a go at every question and do their best with NAPLAN, as we do with all curriculum and assessment activities. All preparation for NAPLAN is done at school, through the practice test environment. The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) also does not recommend excessive preparation for NAPLAN or the use of services by coaching providers.
Swimathon
On the 4th and 5th of March we have the Swimathon. At Buranda we are very fortunate to have the pool as a teaching resource and a fabulous swimming teacher, Mrs Wain, and teacher aides Mrs Thomas and Ms Douglas to assist with swimming lessons. We are grateful to Mrs Wain for organising the swimathon each year because it helps keep our students healthy, active and engaged, and assists our school community to support our P&C. Swimathon forms will be given to students today. Please note, any money raised needs to be deposited through Qkr! upon completion of the Swimathon. Please do not send money or forms to the office.
Learning to swim is essential in Queensland with the summer heat and the beautiful beaches, waterways and pools that tempt us to cool down. Swimming has many health benefits and as a former swimming teacher I would impress upon parents the importance of ensuring children have water safety skills and become competent swimmers.
If you have preschool-aged children, don’t wait until they come to school to learn water safety and swimming. Coming to school with the basics of pool and water safety and swimming assists children to be safe, learn, and enjoy school swimming lessons at school.
Dr Rosie Scholl - HOD-C
From the Inclusion Teacher
To help with our move to a strength-based model of difference, I have taken to working with the children during our Assembly time. The main goal of this work is to support a whole school approach to our strength-based model, but….
...is also fulfilling a secret desire to make Assemblies a little bit silly, while encouraging the kids to think about the process and become involved…
If your child comes home talking about parodies, asks for ideas for parody titles, or eventually attempts to write a verse for a parody on their own, jump right in. Make it a family affair. There is a reason behind this madness, aside from having fun.
It will all become clear over the coming weeks.
Katherine Austin - Inclusion Teacher
Digital and Design Technologies
2025 has started well in Technology with all children enthusiastic and ready to learn. Our Preps have settled in beautifully and are surprising me every week with how quickly they are learning. They are working with Beebots and have been learning how to code them to move from point to point on the Beebot mat. This week the children were shown how to draw the path of the Beebot and write the code.
Year 1/2 classes are learning about new and old technology, hardware, software and peripheral devices. Last week we used I Pads to photograph pieces of technology within the Resource Centre and then used iMovie to insert the photos and record our voices to present our findings. We will soon learn about data and data collection and how to make a table using Word to collate our data. In Term 2 our 1/2 classes will learn how to use Junior Scratch to make a quiz game for other children to play.
Year 3/4 classes have been learning about hardware, software and peripheral devices. We looked through a JB Hifi catalogue online and discovered many digital items from computers to robo vacs. We have discovered what digital systems are used for in the school and have looked at our library borrowing system. Mrs Thomas showed us the data that is stored in the program which allows our Resource Centre to function effectively. Our next task will be to learn the Scratch program to produce a complex quiz game based on what they are learning in another subject for their peers to play.
Year 4/5 classes have been looking at Digital Systems and how they are used within the school and with animal tracking in different environments. Our library runs a complex digital system to keep track of our books and Australia Zoo run a digital system to track the movements of crocodiles within their reserve. Next term our 4/5 class will be learning Excel to produce a spreadsheet to “Plan A Trip of a Lifetime”.
Year 5/6 classes are currently doing a Design Technologies unit and learning to use Photoshop. It is a powerful tool with endless possibilities. We have learnt how to open layers and move and resize photos. We have applied borders and masks to photos and have experimented with adjusting brightness and contrast. Our final product will be our year book produced by the year 6 students.
Julie Wain - Digital and Design Technologies Teacher.
