Volume 8 - 13 June 2025

From the Principal

Welcome to our newsletter for week 9

As we head into Week 9, we’re feeling proud and positive about the many wonderful things happening at our school. Thank you for being such an important part of our community. Let’s continue to support each other and keep kindness at the heart of all we do.

Morning Parades – A Great Start to the Day

This week marked the beginning of our daily morning parades, and they’ve been a fantastic success! These short gatherings are a joyful way to start the day, welcoming students with warmth, encouragement, and a sense of belonging.

Each morning, we focus on positive messages that remind our students to be kind, respectful, and supportive of one another. We believe that starting the day with a smile and a reminder of how we treat others sets the tone for a successful day of learning.

High School Transition – Building Bridges for Year 6

Yesterday, Miss Everingham and I had the pleasure of visiting Bremer State High School for a meeting with their Year 7 team. It was a great opportunity to strengthen our connection and discuss how we can work together to ensure a smooth and positive transition for our Year 6 students as they prepare for high school next year.

We want every child to feel confident and excited about this next step. We'll continue collaborating with Bremer SHS throughout the year to support our students every step of the way.

Reading at Home – A Partnership for Life

We’re continuing to focus on improving reading skills across all year levels. Our current focus is on decoding skills, which are crucial building blocks for fluent reading.

Reading is a lifelong skill that opens so many doors—from reading a menu to understanding a rental agreement or following instructions. It’s one of the most valuable gifts we can give our children.

If you’d like to help your child with reading at home, please reach out to their teacher. Together, we can support our children in becoming confident, capable readers.

Thank you for your ongoing support and for being such an important part of our school community. Let’s continue to lift each other up, stay connected, and celebrate the great things we’re achieving together.

Warm regards,

Andrew Goldie

Proud Principal Leichhardt State school

From the Head of Department - Curriculum

Did you know that the English language is made up of 44 distinct speech sounds, or phonemes? While letters often get the spotlight in early literacy instruction, it’s the sounds they represent that form the true foundation of reading and spelling. Research tells us that developing phonemic awareness—the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds—is essential for skilled reading.

But there’s more to sound instruction than just listening. Students must hear the sound, see how it’s formed on the lips and in the mouth, and feel what their own mouths are doing as they produce it. This approach helps bridge the gap between speech and print, creating more resilient readers.

How Can We Support Our Children to Say Their Sounds Correctly?

Supporting children in developing clear speech is an important part of their communication journey. Here are some practical ways parents and carers can help:

1. Model Correct Speech
   When your child mispronounces a word, respond by naturally modelling the correct pronunciation. For example, if your child says, “I like wed,” you could reply, “I like red! Oh yes, I like red too. Red is my favourite colour.”
   This approach gives your child multiple opportunities to hear the correct version of the word in a meaningful way—without pressure or correction.
2. Use Complete Sentences
   Speaking in full sentences helps children learn sentence structure and hear sounds in context. For instance, instead of saying “Drink?” try, “Would you like a drink of water?”
3. Read Together Regularly
   Reading is one of the most powerful tools for developing speech and language skills. Choose books with simple storylines and repeated phrases. The repetition helps children become familiar with the sounds and rhythm of language.
4. Sing Songs and Say Rhymes
   Songs and nursery rhymes are fun, engaging, and packed with rich language patterns. Encourage your child to join in with the singing, actions, or clapping. These activities build phonemic awareness—an essential skill for both speaking and reading.

Belinda Whittet

Head of Department - Curriculum

From the Head of Department - Student Engagement

We’re in the final stretch of Term 2, and it’s a great time to cheer on our students as they work through assessments and end-of-term tasks. This part of the term can feel busy and a little tiring, but it’s also when students have the chance to really show what they’ve learned. We’re encouraging all our learners to keep giving their best, stay focused, and not give up—even when things get tricky. A little perseverance goes a long way! Whether it’s double-checking a task, asking for help, or just showing up with a positive attitude, every effort counts. Families can help by chatting with your child about their learning, encouraging a good night’s sleep, and celebrating the effort they’re putting in. Let’s finish Term 2 strong—together!

PBL Focus – Weeks 7, 8 & 9

At Leichhardt State School, we are continuing to focus on two important expectations:

👉 We use kind hands and feet
👉 We are in the right place, at the right time

These reminders help keep our school safe, respectful and ready for learning—especially during the busy end of term! Thank you for continuing to reinforce these messages at home.

Healthy Eating

Eating Healthy foods helps our brains and bodies work their best. When we fuel up with protein, vegetables, fruits and whole grains we have more energy, better focus, and a stronger memory. This means we can concentrate in class, stay alert and do our best in learning every day. Healthy eating builds healthy minds!

Practice Family Engagement

I would like to thank our families for partnering with us around Positive Behaviour for Learning. The Department of Education has outlined the benefits for students of family-school engagement including: improved academic outcomes, stronger relationships with adults and peers, better social skills; and improved mental health. When families and schools work together to reinforce positive behaviours, students benefit from clear expectations and consistent reinforcement both at home and in school. This collaboration helps to create a cohesive approach to behaviour management, fostering a sense of community and shared responsibility for students' well-being and success

Bremer Expo Thursday 19th June 3-5pm

Is your child in year 6 and going to Bremer State High?  Get along to the Bremer Expo to find out what Bremer State High School has to offer!! There will be live music, parent info sessions, visit the facilities, check out the new cafe for a FREE coffee and enrol for 2026!!!

From the Head of Special Education Services

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD)

Every year, all schools in Australia participate in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). The NCCD process requires schools to identify information already available in the school about supports provided to students with disability. These relate to legislative requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005, in line with the NCCD guidelines (2019).

Information provided about students to the Australian Government for the NCCD includes:

• year of schooling
• category of disability: physical, cognitive, sensory or social/emotional
• level of adjustment provided: support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice, supplementary, substantial or extensive.

This information assists schools to:

• formally recognise the supports and adjustments provided to students with disability in schools
• consider how they can strengthen the support of students with disability in schools
• develop shared practices so that they can review their learning programs in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disability.

The NCCD provides state and federal governments with the information they need to plan more broadly for the support of students with disability.

The NCCD will have no direct impact on your child and your child will not be involved in any testing process. The school will provide data to the Australian Government in such a way that no individual student will be able to be identified – the privacy and confidentiality of all students is ensured. All information is protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information. To find out more about these matters, please refer to the Australian Governments' Privacy Policy - Link below.

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal - Link below.

If you have any questions about the NCCD, please contact the school.

Jessica Rivett

Head of Special Education

Instrumental Music Program

This semester our instrumental music students have been working hard on learning the basics of their instruments. We are attending a one-day music camp at Bremer High School next Tuesday the 17th of June. For Students attending, don't forget to be there and registered by 8:30am in P Block. 

Sports News

🏉 HPE at Leichhardt – Class of Origin! 🏉

With Game 1 of the State of Origin happening last week, the HPE Department brought the excitement to Leichhardt with our very own Class of Origin.

The girls in Grade 5 and 6A took on the girls in Grade 5 and 6B in a spirited match, followed by the boys in Grade 5 and 6A taking on the boys in Grade 5 and 6B. The whole school was invited to watch, with teachers getting involved in the coaching, refereeing, and cheering, creating an electric atmosphere on the field.

Game 2 will be held in Week 9, aligning perfectly with State of Origin Game 2.

Come on Queensland!! ❤️💛🏉

⚽ Interschool Girls Soccer Match – What a Game! ⚽

Also last week, we held an exciting interschool girls' soccer match on Wednesday afternoon, with Team Red taking on Team Blue in front of parents and student spectators.

The game was a thrilling 4–3 contest, filled with skill, determination, and plenty of cheers from the crowd. A special mention goes to Grade 6’s Yazmin, who delivered a standout performance by scoring a hat trick and earning the title of Girl of the Match in an unforgettable display of talent.

⚽ Boys Soccer – Undefeated and Heading to the Finals! ⚽

The boys' soccer teams have remained undefeated all season in both the senior and junior divisions, turning Leichhardt Oval into a true fortress.

With just one more league game to go, all eyes are on the upcoming Grand Final, where the boys will take on Ipswich North on Thursday, 20th June.

Parents and carers are warmly encouraged to come along, support the team, and help cheer the boys on as they look to finish their incredible season on a high!

🏃‍♂️ Sports Day – Ready, Set, Go! 🏃‍♀️

Students across all year levels have been busy preparing for Sports Day, learning and practising a range of events including track races such as the 80m dash and 60m x4 relay, as well as field events like shot put, long jump, high jump, tug of war, and the traditional ball games.

Our Junior Sports Day will take place on Wednesday, 18th June, followed by the Senior Sports Day on Thursday, 19th June.

Parents and carers are encouraged to come along and enjoy a day of fun, fitness, and friendly competition. We can’t wait to see you there!

Children's Council

Yesterday, Briana and Ryker proudly represented Leichhardt State School at the 'Speak it up Children's Council'. 

Over the day they engaged in activities to get to know the representatives from other primary schools in the Ipswich region, made new friends. 

They spoke about what community means to them, what we can do to support each other and learned about the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

The Children's Council meets once a term and will support our representatives in planning fun activities for Children's Week in October so stay tuned!

We were in for a surprise, when all students and their teachers went outside to wait for their taxis to go back to their schools- one of them was a Tesla! And it was there for us! So we got a super fancy ride.

From the Teachers

5/6B Unlock the Power of Persuasion!

This week in 5/6B, something very strange happened… Miss Robinson locked up all the chairs! Why? Because our students were beginning to explore the art of persuasive writing and what better way to practise than by convincing the chairs to return?

With clipboards in hand and minds full of ideas, students worked together to craft powerful persuasive speeches using high modality language, strong arguments, and emotive appeals. From heartfelt apologies to cleverly structured reasons, the chairs were absolutely moved (literally and figuratively)!

Thanks to their growing understanding of persuasive techniques, 5/6B successfully persuaded the chairs to come back. It was a fun and meaningful way to kick-start our next English unit, and we can’t wait to see how their persuasive powers develop next term!

Talented Beyond the Classroom!

Our staff are not only dedicated educators but also incredibly talented individuals outside of school.  They bring a wealth of skills and passions that enrich our school community in so many ways. We're proud to celebrate the unique talents that make our team truly exceptional!

Mr. Scott

Over the last 6 months our PE teacher Mr. Scott has been training extremely hard to prepare himself for a 21km half marathon race.

Mr. Scott entered the Brisbane Half Marathon where he clocked a time of 1 hr 31 mins and 48 secs to finish in 172nd position. 

This is a fantastic achievement as there were over 4000 participants in the half marathon on the day.

Mrs. Benson

Our resident green thumb Mrs Benson entered one of her many orchids into the Brookfield Agricultural Show and claimed the prestigious award of Orchid of Show!!  

Fortnightly Feast

From the P&C

From the Community