Newsletter 12 14 August 2025

From the Principal

Hi everyone

This week saw our District Track and Field competition held on Monday and Tuesday, with our team of selected students giving their all in a wide range of events. It was a fantastic opportunity for our aspiring athletes to challenge themselves and represent Buranda SS with pride. A special congratulations goes to Georgia, who placed 2nd in the 100m final — an impressive follow-up to her 2nd place in the District Cross Country last term.

Monday also brought a highlight for Science Week, with visiting educator Dr Rob Bell delivering an engaging and inspiring incursion for our students. Thank you to Dr Bell for sharing his enthusiasm for science, and to Dr Scholl for organising this wonderful experience.

I’m pleased  to share an overview of our year 3 and 5 2025 NAPLAN Mean scale score information with you. This year our students have performed very well across the NAPLAN Testing suite. Please see the graphs here to compare our school performance against National, Regional and QLD benchmarks in reading, writing and numeracy. Congratulations to our students. My sincere gratitude to our fantastic teaching team and support staff. Last but not least, thank you  to all of our families for supporting student learning.

Looking ahead, we are already preparing for our anticipated enrolments for 2026. If you know that your family will be moving away from Buranda SS in 2026, please let the office know. Likewise, if you have a child starting Prep next year and have not yet registered, please ensure you submit your enrolment as soon as possible.

Finally, the ABC Radio Conversations program celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. In 2009, our former Principal Lynne Hinton was a guest on the program, speaking about our Philosophy in Schools program — a reminder that teaching our students how to think remains as important today as ever. You can listen to the interview here: Lynne Hinton on ABC Conversations.

Simon Vaseo - Principal

From the HOD-C

National Science Week

We would like to thank, Dr Rob Bell, who provided science presentations for the students to celebrate National Science Week on Monday for National Science Week.

The feedback from the students has been very enthusiastic. The incursion included some nitrogen breathing dragons, very good demonstrations about changes in states of matter with carbon dioxide and nitrogen, and experiments to demonstrate the three aspects of the fire triangle. I hope you have had some enjoyable follow up conversations at home, about the National Science Week incursion. 

Bullying No Way: National week of action

Week 5 is also the 2025 Bullying No Way: National week of action.

Bullying No Way Week is about the important roles school, family and community play in helping young people feel accepted, respected and to have a sense of belonging.

Every day we can help create positive action with students, school staff and our school community by ‘Being Bold. Being Kind. Speaking Up.’

Everyone has a role in preventing bullying. We do this by maintaining self-respect and speaking to others in kind, assertive and meaningful ways that consider everyone’s perspectives.

Teachers will work with students to investigate ways to be respectful and assertive in their health lessons. You can also Check out the 2025 Bullying No Way Week campaign video  and talk with your children about proactive ways to address bullying.

Children's Book Week turns 80 in 2025

Thanks to Ms Santoro and Mrs Alexion for organising our book week event this year in Week 6. This year is the 80^th birthday of Children’s Book Week. We are looking forward to seeing the students dressed up to celebrate Book Week on Thursday the 21^st August.

The CBCA 2025 Book of the Year Awards – Shortlist is available. The shortlisted books are available for viewing in the school library. The winner of book of the year will be announced on the 15^th of August. The theme this year is Book an Adventure!

Fire Brigade Visit for Year 1s

On Thursday the 21^st August the Annerley Fire Brigade are booked in for their annual safety visit with the Year 1s. This will occur if the fire officers are not called out on a higher priority job. The fire safety messages from the professionals are part of the health curriculum that the teachers organise for the students. There are also Safety and education messages available for the community on the Queensland Fire Department website.

Life Education

In week 8 Life Education Queensland (LEQ), an organisation at the forefront of child health and wellbeing, will offer students in Years 3-6 presentations from the ‘Talk About It Program’. LEQ are the state’s largest health promotion charity, providing age-appropriate health and safety education to students from prep to high school.

LEQ will be providing:

• a 75-minute session to the year 3 and 4 students called 'Body Safety, Body Changes'.
• a 90-minute session to the year 5 students called Welcome to Puberty.
• two 90-minute modules to the year 6 students about life education called 'Thriving in Puberty' and a 'Journey of Human Reproduction'.

These presentations are aligned to the Australian Curriculum Health and address aspects of the achievement standard and content descriptions within the Personal, Social and Community Health strand of the HPE curriculum.

The Talk About It Program has been presented to students in Years 5 and 6 for many years at Buranda and has been very successful in helping to educate students about identity, relationships, and puberty. This year we have extended the program to Year 3 and 4 as consent education is now a compulsory part of the curriculum and is included in the Talk About It Program, in age-appropriate ways.

Consent forms for the LEQ incursions have been sent to parents. Consent and payment must be returned prior to the incursions for students to participate.

eSafety Commissioner – Technology Use and Online Safety

eSafety is Australia's independent regulator for online safety. They educate Australians about online safety risks and help to remove harmful content such as cyberbullying of children, adult cyber abuse and intimate images or videos shared without consent.

eSafety offers an Online safety book for parents which covers some of the key online safety issues for young people and includes a range of practical tips and advice on what to do if things go wrong. You can also find a list of important services that can offer extra support. This book is available in multiple languages on their website.

eSafety also has a section of their website devoted to information for parents under the following headings

• Online safety basics
• Safer gaming for families
• Prevent child sexual abuse online
• Focus on under 5s
• Cyber bullying
• Parental controls
• And more …. including advice on Screen Time

Please take the time to familiarise yourself with the eSafety website and resources.

Camps

We are looking forward to both the Year 4 and Year 5/6 camp in week 10 of this term.

The Year 4 camp at Jacobs Well Environmental Education Centre has a science focus and the students learn about life cycles, food chains and webs and adaptations of plants and animals to their environments. The  students also experience a unique walk on South Stradbroke Island where they learn about the history of the local area.

The Year 5/6 camp provides the students with opportunities to practice teamwork, build resilience, make connections and develop leadership skills. They are also provided with multiple opportunities for critical and creative thinking, problem solving and reflection as they tackle the challenges presented to them by the staff at Maroon Outdoor Education Centre.

Please speak with your child’s class teacher, in the first instance, for further clarification regarding camp requirements.

Rosie Scholl - HOD-C

Upcoming Excursions/Incursions

2025 School Opinion Survey - Reminder

The 2025 School Opinion Survey opened on Monday 22 July and will close on Thursday 22 August. Thank you to all the families who have already completed the survey.

This important survey is your opportunity to provide feedback on your experience with our school.

All surveys have beeen emailed directly to parents and caregivers using the email address provided to the school. Each invitation includes a unique user ID and password to ensure secure access. Please note that the survey is completely anonymous – your responses are confidential, and your personal information (such as your email address) will only be used to send you the survey link.

If you require translation assistance, please contact Doreen Holland on bsm@burandass.eq.edu.au, translations are available in Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Hindi, Korean, Samoan, Spanish and Vietnamese. 

We encourage all families to take a few minutes to complete the survey. Thank you for your support!

Online student consent forms

Online student consent forms will be sent out to all families in the coming week. The consent forms are divided into 2 groups, Prep-3 and 4-6 as the students use different online programs.

For the first time, parents can receive and complete this document electronically, helping to save paper and protect trees.

If you haven’t joined QParents, it isn’t too late! Please complete the QPAO form and return to the office. You will receive an email with an invitation code.  QPAO form click link.

Senior Shirts for 2026

Year 5 parents please check your emails for senior shirt order forms. Please return all orders by Monday 18 August. No late orders will be accepted.

If you cannot find the email please contact the office immediately and request a form.

Book Week - Thursday 21 August

We are looking forward to celebrating Book Week this term with a fun dress-up day on Thursday, 21 August. This year’s theme is "Book an Adventure", encouraging students to explore exciting worlds and characters through their favourite stories.

Students are invited to come dressed as a character from a book that sparks a sense of adventure - whether it's a brave hero, a curious creature, or a daring explorer.

There will be a whole school photo at the amphitheatre at 8:45am. If you would like your child to be included in the photo, please make sure they arrive on time and in costume.

We cannot wait to see the creative and adventurous characters come to life!

Ms Santoro and Mrs Alexion

From the Inclusion Teacher

Helping Your Child Build Resilience and Self-Regulation

When you are raising two busy teenagers, reading for pleasure becomes a thing of the past. When I finally jump into bed, and this is usually after checking a biology assignment, arguing over privileges, or discussing the benefits of some new hair product, I try to read a couple of pages before heading into slumber. The trouble is, they are usually the same two pages I read the night before! So, as you can imagine, it has taken me a while to get through Chapter 12 and 13 of The Bonsai Child, by psychologist Judith Y. Locke. 

Judith reminds us that our ultimate goal is to prepare our children for a world that won’t always bend to meet their needs. Two key skills—resilience and self-regulation—are at the heart of this preparation.

Resilience is the ability to recover from setbacks, adapt to change, and keep going when things get tough. Self-regulation is the ability to manage emotions, control impulses, and behave in socially appropriate ways, even when frustrated or disappointed. Both are essential for success at school, at home, and in future workplaces—and both are skills children develop through practice, not protection.

Locke warns that, while it’s tempting to shield children from failure or discomfort, doing so robs them of opportunities to learn. For example, if a child forgets their homework, rushing it to school saves them from a short-term consequence but deprives them of the chance to problem-solve, take responsibility, and remember next time. Similarly, letting a child walk away from a challenging social or classroom situation every time it feels uncomfortable prevents them from learning coping strategies they will need in the future.

Instead, we can help children by:

• Allowing them to experience small, manageable failures and frustrations.
• Teaching them calming strategies—like deep breathing, counting to ten, or positive self-talk—so they can regulate their emotions in the moment.
• Encouraging problem-solving rather than instantly stepping in with a solution.
• Holding consistent boundaries so they learn that limits exist in all environments.

These skills are just as important for classroom behaviour as they are for life outside of school. Students who can manage their emotions and impulses are more likely to focus on their work, respect others, and contribute positively to the learning environment. On the flip side, those who regularly disrupt, demand special treatment, or expect things to go their way, miss out on developing the persistence, adaptability, and empathy that come from working within a group.

Resilience and self-regulation aren’t built overnight—they grow through everyday challenges, both in the classroom and the playground. Our role as adults isn’t to remove every bump in the road, but to guide children as they learn to steady themselves, steer, and keep moving forward.

Buranda has been working with Sarah Ralston and has introduced her Reboot Program across the school. The Positive Change Highway is all about building resilience and helping students understand that life’s journey will have speedbumps, detours, and the occasional roadblock. Through Reboot, children learn that what matters most is how they respond—by staying calm, making good choices, and adjusting their route when needed—so they can keep heading in the right direction.

Talk about the Positive Change Highway with your child.

Katherine Austin - Inclusion 

From the Tuckshop

The back half of term 3 is now upon us and there is a lot happing within the school. Tuckshop will move from the regular Friday slot to Thursday for 3 of these weeks. Please take note of these dates as order cut off times will also be adjusted.

On Thursday August 21^st the school is celebrating Book Week. Tuckshop will move to Thursday to coincide with the dress up day with a themed menu. Students can choose from: Anh Do – Hot Dog Box, Peter Pan’s Neverland Box, Adventures of Paddington Box or Hogwarts Express Box. More details available via Qkr! and posters around the school.

Orders will close at 8pm on Monday 18^th August. Please note that substitutions will not be possible within box contents.

Friday September 5^th is a student free day – Tuckshop will be Thursday September 4^th with orders closing 8pm on Tuesday 2^nd September.

Budgie Cup is on Friday September 12^th so Tuckshop will be Thursday September 11^th with orders closing 8pm September 9^th.

Remaining Tuckshop Dates Term 3

Friday 15^th August – Chicken/Plant Based Burgers – Cut off 8pm 13^th August

Thursday 21^st August – Book Week – Cut off 8pm 18^th August

Friday 29^th August – Cut off 8pm 27^th August

Thursday 4^th September – Cut off 8pm 2^nd September

Thursday 11^th September - Cut off 8pm 9^th September

Friday 19th September – Cut off 8pm 17^th September

Facebook

Please remember our Facebook Page is up and running. This will allow you to stay up to date with events and important information within our school community 

From the Office of Barbara O'Shea MP

The Gabba – Have Your Say!

From the Community