Newsletter 5 September 2025

What’s Happening

Principal’s Report

Welcome wonderful Southport community,

Another amazing fortnight has unfolded at Southport State School. Over the last two weeks, I have had the pleasure of supporting our Eisteddfod Groups and have been so proud of our performances. You can never really pick it, but I do know they sounded polished, and they all held their heads high upon receiving Silver Awards. Thank you to all of the parents who helped their children rehearse or ensure they got to the venues, and of course our dedicated Music teachers – Mrs Burnett, Mr U and Mrs Ferrers. Southport’s creativity was also showcased by our Book Character Parade on Wednesday of Week 8. Thank you to all who got into the spirit.

2026 Prep Open Day

It was fantastic to welcome 35 Prep Families to our school on Saturday 16 August at our Prep Open Day for 2026 students.  The children were so excited for a morning at ‘big school’ and I enjoyed taking them and their families on a tour of our fantastic Prep classrooms and wider school. 

I wish to extend a massive thanks to those who assisted for 3+ hours, dedicating some of their weekend time to attract new students into Prep for 2026. The weather was great, and the event received some good feedback. Thanks to the office ladies for helping – Kylie, Deb and Sonia. Thanks to the Prep Teachers for organising their rooms with rotations and to Miss Leslie and Miss Paton for attending. Thanks to the leadership team as well – Mrs Biddulph and Ms Baldwin for organising the day, and Miss Poppy for attending as well. We also had Mrs Shree attending, one of our dedicated Teacher Aides.

A special thanks goes out to our dedicated P&C once again! Melissa (secretary) and Matt (Vice President) cooked the snags which he secured for free through Southport IGA. Well done all!

Staying Connected – Keeping Up to Date

At our school, we use a variety of communication methods to the best of our ability to make sure families are informed and up to date with key dates and important information. These include our front electronic sign, digital newsletter such as this, class teacher emails or Seesaw, text messages, and our school Facebook page.

It’s important for families to be across all of these communication platforms, as different information may be shared in different ways. In addition, families may also find the P&C Calendar supplied at the beginning of the year, our P&C Facebook and the Education Queensland Facebook site useful sources of information.

By staying connected through these channels, you’ll always be up to date with school events, key reminders, and opportunities to be involved in our community.

Book Character Parade

Always one of my most favourite dress up occasions and it did not let me down in 2025. Thank you to all that helped make this morning special. Particular thanks to Miss Alisa Clarke who organised the day. Please check out our Facebook site post on 03^rd September to see some pictures.

Some things not to forget:

• Sign every child up to QParents
• Raise money for the Colour Explosion Run – money raised goes to chilled water bubblers
• Come along to the Art Show

Have an amazing fortnight as we head into our September break!

Andrew Stewart
Principal

Deputy Principal Junior Report

Our school is now taking enrolments for the 2026 school year, please get your enrolment forms in early, if possible, to inform school planning. Should you know of friends or family looking to join us at Southport State School, please inform them to visit our school website or contact the school for further information and to obtain an enrolment package.

Prep 2026 – Welcome Aboard Discussions

Prep 2026 Welcome Aboard Discussions have now started. You can book into these and our Prep 2026 ‘Meet Your Crew’ sessions held in Term 4 via our school website, or using the SOBs booking system.

Make your booking here - https://eq.sobs.com.au/pt3/parent.php?schoolid=70163

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)

At Southport State School, we promote and encourage the following values which have been identified by our school community. These values are upheld by both students and staff:

“I am a Learner, I am Respectful, I am Safe”

Each week students engage in a PBL focus lesson. These lessons promote the school values, and we talk to students about the behaviours associated with them.

What are the benefits of using the PBL framework?

• PBL helps schools to be consistent in the way they support and respond to behaviour.
• PBL enables schools to develop clear expectations and boundaries for behaviour and ensures that behaviour support is differentiated according to need.

The week 7 & 8 PBL focus value was SAFE

Southport State School is committed to providing quality education for all in a safe, respectful and disciplined learning environment. We believe these values teach and promote our high standard of responsible behaviour.

Attendance

We have noticed a significant drop in attendance in the past 2 weeks.  Our school attendance is 85.9% for the past fortnight. There has been an increase of students being absent due viruses such to Influenza A and Gastro.

Good hygiene is important to prevent the spread of illness. Many germs (bacterial and viral) are spread from person to person simply through touch (e.g. germs are on your hands after you touch a toy a sick child has been playing with).

It is important to regularly wash hands thoroughly, especially when caring for children who are unwell. It is particularly important to wash your hands and teach your child to wash their hands at the following times:

Teaching your child how to wash their hands:

1. Wet your hands.
2. Apply soap or hand wash and rub your hands for 15–20 seconds – you can tell children this is as long as it takes to sing 'Happy Birthday' twice.
3. Make sure you wash the back of the hands, wrists, between the fingers and under fingernails.
4. Rinse and dry with a clean towel. 

It is also important to encourage children to cough or sneeze into their elbow, and to use tissues instead of hankies.

A handy little clip to share with your children: Better Health Channel: Be a Soapy Hero!

Gabrielle Baldwin
Deputy Principal Junior School

News from the Office

QParents

Fantastic news: over 300 students are registered for QParents already.

A huge thank you to those who have taken the time to register.

Year 3 & 5 students will receive their incursion information via QParents on Monday 8^th September.

Kylie Sztama

Guidance Officer

The Gold Coast City Council provides many opportunities for parents to keep their kids entertained with the Active and Healthy holiday program.

All activities are free or low cost with something different on offer each holiday. The spring holiday program is released approximately two weeks before the end of term. To get an email delivered direct to your inbox subscribe on their website.

Happy Holidays!

Marisa Anderson

Mind Matters

Understanding Childhood Perfectionism

Wanting to do well can be a great motivator, but when children feel they must do everything perfectly, it can become overwhelming! Perfectionism often leads to stress, self-criticism, and a fear of failure that may stop kids from trying new things.

By praising effort instead of just results, modelling that mistakes are part of learning, and encouraging balance, we can help children let go of unrealistic pressure. Supporting kids to be kind to themselves builds confidence, resilience, and a healthier approach to learning and growth.

Kiana Bresic
School – based Psychologist

P&C News