Newsletter 4 24 March 2025
From the Principal
Hi everyone
As we continue our post-cyclone recovery efforts, I want to provide an update on our school grounds and remind everyone about important safety considerations.
Oval Update
The clean-up and repairs on the oval are progressing well. The perimeter fence has now been repaired, and the playground equipment will undergo a thorough clean tomorrow. Once this is completed, we will be able to resume using the oval, though some areas toward the far end near Narbethong will remain restricted. Testing has been conducted to ensure the safety of these areas following their recent exposure to floodwaters. QBuild has been managing the restoration and repairs of the oval and associated facilities, and we appreciate their continued efforts in getting our school back to full operation.
Martin Street Access Reminder
A reminder to all families that Martin Street is strictly for drop-off and pick-up only. If you need to enter the school, please use the designated safe access point via Gladys Street under the busway. With additional construction in the area, Martin Street is under extra pressure, and it only takes one vehicle stopping improperly to create significant disruption. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping this area safe and functional for everyone.
Year 3/4 Excursion
Our Year 3/4 students will be heading on an exciting excursion next Monday to the Moreton Bay Environmental Education Centre, where they will engage in the First Contact program. This will be a valuable learning experience, providing students with insights into the rich cultural heritage and history of the region.
NAPLAN Testing
A big thank you to the families of our Year 3 and Year 5 students for their support and cooperation during the NAPLAN testing suite last week. All tests are now finalised, and I want to give a special mention to our hardworking students for doing their best throughout the tests. Well done!
P&C AGM and New Executive Committee
Our recent P&C Annual General Meeting was a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge the dedication of our outgoing executive members. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Chris McGrath for his leadership as President, as well as to all outgoing executive and general P&C volunteers for their contributions to our school community. I am pleased to announce the 2025 P&C Executive Committee:
- President: Adam Purdy
- Secretary: Hannah Gullo
- Treasurer: Ricky Brooks
- Vice-Treasurer: Kate Slessor
I look forward to working closely with our P&C team over the next 12 months to support our students and school initiatives.
Term Dates and ANZAC Day Assembly
A reminder that Term 1 concludes on Friday, 4 April. School will resume after the break on Tuesday, 22 April. We will hold our Student ANZAC Day Assembly on Thursday, 24 April, and we ask families to contribute a flower or greenery for the class wreaths, which will be used in the assembly. This is a meaningful way for our students to honour those who served. Lest we forget.
Simon Vaseo - Principal
From the HOD-C
Recycling and Composting at Buranda
The Yr. 5 students will take on the civic responsibility of ensuring that our lunch waste is recycled and composted, as appropriate, in 2025. Thank you to the Year 5 students and teachers, and to Mr Bryant for leading this initiative.
To assist the students in their recycling and composting efforts it would be terrific if parents and students could support a Nude Food/Litter Free Lunch approach where possible.
Nude Food is food without excess packaging. This enables us to have Litter Free lunches. Usually, this means we pack food in our lunchboxes that is not processed, often making it a healthier and more environmentally friendly option. Nude Food reduces the amount of 'stuff' that needs to go in bins to be sent to landfill. Durable, reusable containers are a great way to bring food, as they last longer, providing long term cost savings and environmental benefits.
The Nutrition Australia Queensland website provides the following lunchbox ideas and advice – Factsheets
- Lunchbox menu planning
- Lunchbox food safety
- Healthy Snacks for Children
- Ideas for Sandwich Fillings
- Super lunchbox ideas
The Nude Food website offers a video with ‘Lunchbox tips from a parent’ to help you prepare your child/ren’s lunches.
https://www.wow.sa.gov.au/diy/nude-food
We encourage students to follow the tips on the poster attached and thank you for joining us in this initiative to have healthier lunchboxes and a cleaner environment.
https://www.wow.sa.gov.au/resources/nude-food-pack-waste-free-food
To help when lunchboxes are left in the eating areas, please clearly label all student lunch boxes, utensils and drink bottles with their name.
Queensland Rail’s Railsmart Program
On Wednesday the 23rd April Queensland Rail staff will provide presentations for all students at school (P-6).
Queensland Rail’s Railsmart program is a free, preventative rail safety education program aimed at school students and aims to give all students Rail safety tips.
Our interactive and tailored presentations make safety engaging and relevant for all age groups. The Railsmart programs emphasize:
- The dangers of high-voltage electricity and trespassing
- How to safely use level crossings
- Staying safe on platforms and avoiding distractions
- Train etiquette and respectful behaviour
- Recognising Queensland Rail staff and security for assistance
- Aligned with the Australian Education curriculum, the program integrates into the Health, Safety, and Physical Education focus areas.
The Prep to Year 5 students will go to the Railsmart TRACK STARS Program. The Railsmart TRACK STARS program, is designed for and delivered to primary school students, uses interactive and engaging stories, activities, media and prizes to encourage young people to be aware of their surroundings and make decisions that keep themselves, and their friends safe around railways!
The Year 6 students will attend the Railsmart INDEPENDANT TRAVEL program, which uses interactive and engaging stories, activities, media and prizes to equip and encourage young people as they begin navigating public transport by themselves, many potentially for the first time.
The Railsmart program is Australian Curriculum aligned with the safety aspects of the health curriculum and is being offered free to all the students at Buranda. With our proximity to Buranda Train Station students at Buranda SS will be likely to travel by train either to and from school, or to and from excursions.
This incursion will also pre-empt the reopening of Buranda Train Station when the accessibility upgrade is completed, and will help students thinking about their rail safety as they explore the new station. Click the links for further information about the Buranda station accessibility upgrade and Translink information about the Buranda Train Station upgrade.
Dr Rosie Scholl - HOD-C
From the Inclusion Teacher
We had some great entries to our parody song title challenge shared at assembly a couple of weeks ago. I did however, choose to keep it clean, so those entries containing toilet humour were not included, although there was one particularly clever one 😊. The suitable entries are listed below:
Tallulah 5/6N Bad Blood – Bad Love
Scarlett 3/4O Bad Blood – Mad Love
Phoebe 3/4O Take Me to a Better Place – Take Me to a Wetter Place
Taya 5/6BP We Will Rock You – We Will Mock You
Myra 5/6N You Belong with Me – You Eat Thongs with Bees
Darcy B.3/4O Unstoppable – Unbeatable
Nash 3/4O Bones – Pies
Ethan 5/6BP Into the Unknown – Why You Use Your Phone
Harrison Connelly 3/4O Bones – Phones
Alice 5/6N Video Killed the Radio Star – The Computer Ate the Chocolate Bar
Ava O. 4/5H Snowman – Sandman
Irene 3/4W Darkside – Bright Side
Archie 4/5H Death Bed – Microwaved Bread
Michelle 5/6BP The World is Mine – The Food is Mine
Fergus 3/4O Leave it All to Me – Take it All from Me
I put the vote to the teachers to decide which title was the most popular. The winners are underlined above. I’m personally looking forward to hearing a song about pies, but that could be the lack of breakfast this morning.
As we move forward with our strength-based approach to difference, the fun will continue. However, as spoken about in Week 3, there are some serious things to consider when focussing on children’s strengths. As with weightlifting, strength has to be earned. It can’t be given. So how do we support our students as they work to develop their own strengths?
As parents, it’s natural to worry about our children’s safety, especially in a world that sometimes feels more threatening than when we were growing up. We may believe that by offering more protection, we can keep them safe. There’s an important irony here however: while protecting them from harm may seem like the right approach, it can also have negative effects.
Shielding children from challenges and experiences can send the message that the world is a dangerous place, but it’s actually these experiences that help our children build self-confidence and the skills needed to navigate the real world. Ultimately, our children will need to become independent, whether we’re ready for it or not. If we don’t allow them to gradually step outside the safety of home and our protection, they may struggle to develop the confidence, street smarts, and healthy self-esteem they need to thrive.
As we touched on in Week 3, a healthy self-esteem is paramount to a successful life, whether that be as a plumber, IT guru, chef, or engineer, or whether you are considered neuro-typical or neuro-diverse. Next week we will look at ways to support children in developing the skills required for independence and the confidence and self-belief required for a healthy self-esteem.
Katherine Austin - Inclusion teacher
From the PE Teacher
Recently we have had several children involved in district sport trials and carnivals which is worth acknowledging.
Three weeks into the year we had Annika attend District Swim Trials where she qualified to compete at the Met East Carnival in 50m Breaststroke. Annika has also been selected in the U11 Mt Gravatt District Netball Team. She will take part in a carnival on Friday this week.
In late February we had a team of 8/9 year old boys compete at the Brisbane Metro School Futsal Titles. Darcy B, Charlie, Hudson, Fergus, Vinnie and Mack played 5 games in one day, winning 4 of the games. This placed then in 2nd position in their pool qualifying them for the finals competition to be held in April. Thank you to Jodie for organising the nomination process and to Rob for coaching the boys on the day. Thank you also to all of the parents who transported the boys to the event and spent the day cheering them on. Simon and I were lucky enough to attend part of the day and watch the boys play some skilful football.
We also have Jules who has been selected in the combined Mt Gravatt/Lytton team for the upcoming AFL competition.
Audrey will compete in the Met East Hockey trials as part of the Mt Gravatt District team in early April. Audrey along with Chloe will also be trialling for the Mt Gravatt District Tennis team.
We are very proud of the quality of athletes we have in our tiny school, and we wish all our athletes the best of luck in their upcoming trials and competitions.
Julie Wain - Physical Education Teacher