Volume 14 - 17th October 2025

From the Principal

Principal’s Message

Welcome back to another busy and exciting term at our school. It’s wonderful to see our students settling back into their learning routines and embracing all the opportunities that Term 4 brings.

This term, our swimming program has commenced, and it’s fantastic to see our students building their confidence and skills in the water. Swimming is not only an important part of the curriculum but also a vital life skill, especially in Australia where being around water is such a big part of our lifestyle. We encourage all students to participate fully—it’s about safety, fitness, and having fun while learning.

Our focus this term continues to be on the explicit teaching of reading, particularly through the teaching of phonics using the PLD program. Reading is one of the most important skills a child can learn, and research consistently shows that all children learn to read the same way—through systematic and explicit teaching of phonics. We are committed to ensuring that every child in our school becomes a confident and capable reader, as reading truly is the key to lifelong learning.

Our Morning Roar continues to deliver a positive start for our students, allowing us to set them up for a successful day of learning. It’s a great way to build connection, reinforce expectations, and celebrate the wonderful things happening across our school.

Attendance also remains a key priority. Every day at school matters—when children miss days, they miss learning. Regular attendance gives students the best chance to keep up, feel connected, and succeed both academically and socially.

Finally, a reminder that our School Doctor Surgery continues to operate each and every Friday. This is such a wonderful asset to our school and supports the health and wellbeing of our students and families.

Thank you for your continued support in making our school a place where children feel safe, happy, and ready to learn.

Warm regards,
Andrew Goldie
Principal

From the Head of Department - Curriculum

Thank you to all the families who attended our Prep Open Day on Monday!
We hope your children enjoyed their afternoon exploring the school and meeting Leo the Lion.

If you have a child starting Prep in 2026, we’d love to see you at our next session on Monday, 20th October.

Below are a few snippets of our day.

If you would like any further information, please contact the school on 3813 3222 or email Admin@leichardtss.eq.edu.au

Belinda Whittet

HOD- Curriculum

From the Head of Department - Student Engagement

Welcome Back to Term 4!

Welcome back, everyone! We hope you all enjoyed a restful and fun break with family and friends. It’s great to see our students return with big smiles, ready for another exciting term of learning.

Term 4 is always a busy and rewarding time as we celebrate achievements, finish projects, and prepare for important end-of-year events. We have lots to look forward to — excursions, performances, celebrations, and opportunities for students to shine in all areas of school life.

A huge thank you to our staff, parents, and caregivers for your continued support. Together, we make our school a fantastic place to learn and grow. Let’s make Term 4 a positive and memorable one for all!

We look forward to a great term ahead.

Ms Everingham

HOD - Student Engagement

👏 Congratulations to our Week 1 Winners! 🎉

🏆 Attendance Champions: 1A and 4/5B – well done on an amazing start to the term with fantastic attendance!

🌟 Best Class on Parade: 5/6A – congratulations on setting such a positive example and showing our school values in action!

Keep up the great work, everyone!

🌞 Sun Safety Reminder

As the weather warms up, it’s important that all students are being SunSmart at school. Please ensure your child brings a hat every day and applies sunscreen before coming to school.

Let’s all work together to stay safe and protect our skin while enjoying the sunshine this term. ☀️👒🧴

Day for Daniel

Day for Daniel – Friday 31st October we’ll be recognising Day for Daniel, Australia’s largest child safety education and awareness day. Students are encouraged to wear red to show their support and learn about the importance of keeping safe, recognising unsafe situations, and reporting to trusted adults. Day for Daniel is an important reminder for children to be aware, stay safe, and speak up. Let’s join together to honour Daniel’s legacy and promote child safety. Find out more at www.danielmorcombe.com.au

🎓 Preparing for High School

As our Leichhardt State School Year 6 students get ready to take their next big step into high school, it’s important to help them feel confident and well-prepared for the changes ahead. Families can support this transition by encouraging independence, building strong organisational habits, and talking positively about the exciting opportunities that come with starting high school.

With upcoming transition days and orientation programs at our local high schools — including Bremer State High School, Ipswich State High School, and Bundamba State Secondary College — now is the perfect time to help students get ready for this new adventure.

Let’s finish the year strong and support our Year 6s as they prepare to shine in 2026! 🌟

From the Head of Special Education Services

External Providers Requests

External providers can offer a valuable service in supporting individual students. Collaboration between the provider and school can result in more effective support for the student. As part of the external provider’s process of assessing need and supporting students, schools may be requested to provide information regarding a student’s current presentation, progress, functioning and support needs. Given that the information involved is often of a sensitive nature and can rely on specific administration protocols, Leichhardt State School adopts a best practice approach when responding to requests received from external providers. A Consent to Share will also be required to be signed before the school can speak to any external providers and can be found in the main office. To help us process requests efficiently, we kindly ask that the school be given at least four weeks' notice. We understand that urgent requests may occasionally arise, and we will do our best to accommodate them whenever possible.

The Requests for Information and Assessments for External Providers and Consent to Share form can be located on the school website or paper copies can be found at the main office.

NDIS Requests

Due to increasing space constraints on our school site, Leichhardt State School will no longer be able to host NDIS provider sessions. This decision was not made lightly and followed extensive discussion and consideration by the school leadership team. Unfortunately, the ongoing lack of available space has made it increasingly difficult to accommodate external providers during school hours.

We recognise the value these sessions provide for many of our students and families, and we deeply regret any disruption this may cause.

We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding and support as we work to ensure a safe and functional learning environment for all.

Jessica Rivett

Head of Special Education

Children's Week

Next week is Children's week! The event is a national celebration held annually across Australia, aimed at raising awareness and educating the community about the rights of children, as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Students will be invited to explore their key rights as a child, such as the right to be safe, to play, to be heard and to be cared for during play times in the library or art hub. 

At the end of the week, we will share a gallery of artworks about the rights that matter most to our students on Facebook so make sure you check it out! 

Book Club

Book Club is out now! Orders will close on the 23rd of October. Great opportunity to start thinking about Christmas presents. 

If your child has not brought their copy home yet you can view the catalogue on Loop or by following this link:

Sports News

Indigenous Games

Term 3 was an amazing term at Leichhardt, with students exploring the topic of Indigenous games. Throughout the term, the children learned about the origins of traditional games such as Khabi Khabi, Emu, Jumpinpin, Arkene Iremme and Kai—and, of course, had a fantastic time playing them.

The term’s learning all came together at our Indigenous Games Carnival, where houses went head-to-head in these traditional games. Students displayed our school values—being safe, kind, and learners—while competing in the spirit of fun and respect.

After a day of great competition, Kurrajong House came out on top with an outstanding 360 points! We also saw excellent participation and teamwork from both Acacia and Banksia houses. It was a wonderful celebration of culture, learning, and community.

Futsal

Last term we were excited to send both a boys’ and girls’ team to the Futsal Tournament at Bremer for the very first time. For many of our students, it was a fantastic opportunity not only to experience futsal but also to meet the teachers and students they will be joining at high school next year.

The girls’ team had an outstanding tournament, finishing second overall. A special congratulations goes to Maiana, who was awarded Player of the Day and also achieved the highest number of ball juggles across the competition!

The boys showed great determination, making it all the way to the grand final. They were 2–1 up with seven minutes to go, but after two excellent goals from a strong Amberley side, the trophy unfortunately did not come back to Leichhardt. It was still an excellent tournament overall for both staff and students. On the day, no single player could be chosen as standout, so the entire team received the Most Valuable Team Award, each sharing in the recognition.

Both teams should be very proud of their efforts, representing Leichhardt with teamwork, sportsmanship, and enthusiasm.

Swimming

Each class is taking part in weekly swimming sessions at the Leichhardt Pool in preparation for our end-of-term Swimming Carnival. Along with developing their swimming strokes, students are also learning key water safety skills to help them stay safe in real-life aquatic situations.

Battle of the Classes

Students are busy practising three fun games: Danish Longball, Capture the Flag, and Build-Up Ball. In Week 9, classes will compete against others in their year level in our Battle of the Classes competition! Students have already had a taste of all three games—be sure to ask your child which one they’re enjoying most.

Health: Managing Our Emotions

In our classroom health lessons, we’re focusing on managing emotions—in school, at home, and during HPE. Over the first two weeks, students have been exploring how we can recognise whether problems are big or small, and how our reactions can influence the size of the problem.

Touch Football – Final Round

This Friday marks the final games of the season for our Touch Football teams. Our junior sides will play their last two matches and are hoping to finish the season strongly after a fantastic term of improvement and teamwork.

Both our Senior Boys and Senior Girls teams head into the final round needing to win their last two games to claim the premiership—an incredible achievement that hasn’t been done at Leichhardt in over ten years! After our Senior Girls narrowly missed out in last year’s grand finale, both teams are determined to make this season one to remember.

We wish all our players the best of luck for their final games—go Leichhardt!

Special Visit

We were also very lucky to have Queensland Futsal Coach Nicholas Evans visit Leichhardt to work with our Grade 5 and 6 students. The students had an amazing time learning the basic skills of futsal and discovering just how fun and fast-paced the game can be.

Mr Scott 

SNR HPE Teacher

From the Teachers

The Arts with Miss McQueen

Year 3 Art – Rubbish: Where Does It Go?
This term, our Year 3 students have been exploring the theme “Rubbish: Where Does It Go?” in Visual Art. They’ve been learning about the impact of waste on our environment and how everyday items can be reused or repurposed creatively. Using recycled materials, students have designed imaginative artworks that encourage us all to think more carefully about sustainability and the journey our rubbish takes after we throw it away.

From the Deadly Room

🌿 Welcome Miss Darcy!

We’re excited to welcome Miss Darcy to Leichhardt State School! Miss Darcy is a Community Educator Counsellor who will be working alongside Aunty Marly in the Deadly Room each Monday and Tuesday.

Miss Darcy is here to support our students and families, helping to build strong connections and a positive sense of community.

Families are warmly invited to pop in, say hello, and help us make Miss Darcy feel welcome at Leichhardt! 💛🤝

Deadly Learning in the Deadly Room

Our Indigenous students have been enjoying some fantastic Deadly Learning sessions in the Deadly Room with Aunty Marly. These sessions provide a culturally safe and supportive space where students can connect, learn, share stories, and strengthen their sense of identity and belonging. We’re so proud of the way our students are engaging, showing pride in their culture, and supporting one another in their learning journey.

Fortnightly Feast

🍎 Yummy & Healthy Lunchbox Idea – Rainbow Veggie Wraps

Looking for a fun and healthy addition to your child’s lunchbox? Try these Rainbow Veggie Wraps – they’re colourful, crunchy, and packed with goodness!

From the P&C

Christmas Raffle Donations

We’re excited to share that Term 4 will feature a substantial Christmas raffle, packed with prizes ranging from a festive food hamper to outdoor equipment and more! To make this raffle extra special, we’re reaching out for donations—if you have any items that could be added to our prize pool, we’d love your support. Whether it’s gourmet treats, sporting goods, or something unique, every contribution helps make Christmas brighter for our school community.

If you’d like to donate or have any questions, please contact the office or chat with one of our friendly P&C volunteers at the tuckshop. Let’s come together and spread some Christmas cheer at Leichhardt!

Tuckshop News

Tuckshop will reopen Tuesday 21st October. Thank you for your patience during this time of late opening.  If you have any feedback or ideas, please feel free to come have a chat of a morning or find us out in the field. Also, we are always looking for more volunteers to help any day of the week, whether be helping with lunches or reading to our younger groups. Tuckshop runs from Week 2 to Week 9 each term. This year, the tuckshop will be open on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Don't forget, online orders close at 8:30 am, and over-the-counter service closes at 9:00 am. Meal Deals will now remain on the menu permanently.

Qkr! Accounts Reminder

Please take a moment to check your child's details in your Qkr! accounts. We've been receiving orders for students in the wrong classes and Year Levels, and we want to ensure everyone gets the right items at the right time. We are working with QKR! to add new class options as we have composite classes in 2025.

Uniform Shop Updates

Uniforms and Sports Hats will be topped up mid Term 4 so get in quick before end of year sell out, we do welcome pre-orders if sold out prior to end of year. The uniform shop is now open on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8:00am to 9.00am. Our online ordering system has been updated with a new pick-up option for added convenience outside these times. Online orders will be processed on tuckshop days. If you need your order at other times, please contact the office, and we'll be happy to assist you. All sizes are currently in stock and available online and over the counter.

Volunteer Appreciation

A gentle reminder: Our P&C is run by volunteers from the Leichhardt community who dedicate their time and effort. Let's show them kindness and appreciation for all they do. If you would like to join the P&C and volunteer at our incredible school, please feel free to contact the office or come have a friendly chat with our volunteers in the morning at the tuckshop.

Questions or Concerns

Got a burning question, a bright idea, or something on your mind about our P&C? We’d love to hear from you! Send us an email at PandC@leichhardtss.eq.edu.au or catch one of our friendly volunteers out and about—they love a good chat. Your feedback, suggestions, and creativity make our community shine even brighter. Let’s keep working together to make Leichhardt the happiest school around!

Looking Forward

Thank you, Leichhardt Community, for all your support. We're looking forward to yet another incredible Term ahead with the Leichhardt Lions!

From the Community