Victoria Park State School Newsletter - Week 2, Term 3, 2025

Principal's Report

Welcome back to a new term of learning at Victoria Park State School and a warm welcome to all of our new families. We are excited to have you join our great school. This newsletter contains information about attendance, school consent processes, parent teacher interviews and NAIDOC celebrations. We are also excited to celebrate lots of our students' successes across the end of Term 2 and the beginning of Term 3. 

Attendance

One of our key improvement areas for 2025 is attendance. Schools are fast-paced environments, and learning is our priority from the moment the first bell rings. Students should be aiming to attend school every lesson, of every day of every week to ensure they are maximising their learning potential.  Under the law, you must make sure your child is 
enrolled and attends school on ALL school days unless you have a reasonable excuse. You must not keep your child away from school for minor reasons. Under the law, schools must monitor attendance of students and follow up with parents and caregivers regarding any unexplained absences. We are committed to ensuring that our students achieve their learning potential by maximising their attendance. We are here to help. Use our contact list below to connect with your child's teacher or phase leader so we can discuss how to assist with attendance. Every day counts. Even the odd day here and there or a continual routine of arriving late can have massive impacts on learning over time...

School Consent Processes

Thank you for your patience as we've navigated updates to our consent processes. Victoria Park State School participated in a routine audit of our operations and administrative processes towards the end of Term 2. In response to feedback received, we took steps to tighten up our consent processes for school activities, excursions, use of media and use of online services and platforms. Step one in ensuring families were able to provide informed consent was to regain it using the paper, coloured forms issued last term. Step two is to make this a more accessible process by establishing a safe way to give consent electronically in terms of the storage of information. Whilst paper forms have helped us tighten processes quickly, in a school of 600+ students we recognise that moving forward, electronic forms provide much greater ease of access to many of our families and are a practical way to complete some of our permission forms. In Term 3 we will commence using QParents for electronic consent as it represents the safest way to store the information provided in the process of giving consent. This will see us re-establish three, consistent platforms for communication;

• Schoolzine (or SZ app) for outward, school-wide communication (newsletters, notifications, student of the week text messages, newsflashes or bulk email messages).
• QParents for tasks linked to student record management such as recording absences, updating your child's details, accessing report cards, settling accounts and as of the end of this term, provision of consent for activities, excursions, online services access and use of photos and media. 
• Email for reciprocal communication between our families and our staff members. All staff email addresses are included at the end of our newsletter. 
  

If you haven't had a chance to sign up to QParents, our friendly admin staff will be in attendance at Parent Teacher Interviews to assist. We encourage families who haven't had a chance to install QParents to take advantage this opportunity in preparation for our transition back to use of electronic forms where appropriate in Term 3. 

 Parent Teacher Interviews

Fresh from receiving Semester 1's report card at the end of Term 2, families will get an opportunity to discuss their child's learning progress and next steps in more depth at Parent Teacher Interviews on Monday August 4. 

Interviews will be held on:

Monday 4th August, 2025
3:10pm – 5:20pm
Location: School Hall

Online bookings are now open and will close Wednesday July 30 at 11:45pm. Bookings can be made here; https://victoriaparkss.schoolzineplus.com/interviewsT3. If you do not have internet access, please phone the school on 4951 6333 to make an appointment.

Interviews are strictly 10 minutes. If you require more time, please contact your child’s teacher directly to make alternative arrangements.

Please Note:
Teachers from the following classes are unavailable on this date:

• Prep A (Mrs Daniel)

• 2/3 (Miss Lawry)

• 3C (Miss Thomas)

Parent/Teacher Interviews for 2/3 with Miss Lawry and 3C with Miss Thomas will be held over 2 afternoons, the 12th and 13th August from 3:10-4:10pm in the Library. Bookings for these classes can be made here:  https://victoriaparkss.schoolzineplus.com/interviewsT3/classes3Cand2/3 

Mrs D will be in touch with families of Prep A to arrange alternative interview times upon her return from leave.

We look forward to seeing you there and working together to support your child’s learning!

NAIDOC Celebrations

Last week our First Nations Steering Committee Captains, Elanah and Ruby met with members of our Indigenous Parent reference group to consider the importance of NAIDOC Week and plan NAIDOC festivities for Victoria Park State School. Our leaders have lots of exciting rolling activities and presentations planned for our celebration which will occur across Weeks 4-6. We are excited to share further details with you shortly. 

Sarah Mutton
Principal

Date Claimers

Date Claimers for Term 3 can be found on our live school calendar here;

Celebrating Success

Congratulations to the following students who have been selected in the SS Track and Field Team! They will attend the MDSS Track & Field trials on 24^TH AND 25^TH July at the Mackay ARC. 

Netball Gala Day

End of Term Netball Action! 

On the last day of Term 2, we had three teams head over to the netball courts to compete against other schools at the Netball Gala Day. It was a fantastic day filled with great sportsmanship, teamwork, and determination.

Both our girls and boys played exceptionally well, representing our school with pride and giving it their all. A big well done to all the students involved. You did us proud!

                       ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Year 6 Teams Classroom

6A is Learning with Microsoft Teams!

Mr. Cousens’ Grade 6 class has begun using Microsoft Teams as part of their classroom learning routine. This digital platform is being introduced to help students;
- Stay focused and minimise distractions
- Collaborate more effectively
- Communicate without disrupting those working around them

We’re excited to see our students engaging with technology in a purposeful way that supports both independence and teamwork. Well done, 6A! 

                              -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Laurie Spina Carnival - Townsville 

A few of our talented Under 11s recently headed to Townsville to take part in the Laurie Spina Shield, a two-day rugby league carnival proudly coordinated by the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys.

This fantastic event is all about participation, fair play, and celebrating what makes rugby league “the greatest game of all.” Over the course of the carnival, 1,080 young players took to the field across 224 action-packed games!

We’re incredibly proud of our students for representing our school and community at such a large and exciting event.

Go team!

                            ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CQ Regional Football and Netball

CQ Regional Shield 

Our school netball and football sides spent two hard fought days at Tannum Sands playing against some tough competition across the Central Queensland Region.

Whilst no silverware came back to Mackay, team spirits were high.

Massive thank you and shout out to Mrs Warrell, Miss Moohin and Mrs Dinsdale for all their hard work and hours spent training.

                                    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STEM Robotics comp

A few lucky students had the exciting opportunity to visit the STEM Robotics Competition this week, held at the Mackay Showgrounds.

The event brought together schools from across the region, all showcasing their coding and engineering skills through a series of innovative and challenging robotics tasks. Students were able to watch robots navigate obstacle courses, complete problem-solving missions, and even compete in head-to-head challenges.

It was an inspiring experience that sparked curiosity, creativity, and a deeper understanding of how science, technology, engineering and mathematics come together in real-world applications. Safe to say our students were amazed and left feeling motivated for their own future STEM adventures! Thanks, Mr Edwards for facilitating this great opportunity for our students. 

Students of the Week

Week 1

Attendance Cup Winners

Congratulations to Week 1's Attendance Cup Winners - 5/6M, 1A and 3A.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)

PBL Goals of the Week

Below are our two PBL goals for this fortnight.

• Staying in Class

                                  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PBL Silent Disco

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 11

Next

We celebrated the end of a term with an absolute banger of a disco.

We had an absolute blast dancing the day away. We saw limbo battles, a few massive conga lines and even busted moves with Just Dance!

Favourite songs of the day we sung our hearts out too, were Beautiful Things by Benson Boon and Thick of it by KSI.

So many smiles, so many groovy moves

A massive congratulations and thank you to Mrs Warrell and Mrs Rankin for putting together last term’s PBL Silent Disco! what an absolute HIT! 

From start to finish it was epic! The kids had a blast and it’s all thanks to your amazing effort and energy.

                              ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PBL Games Garden opening

Our PBL Games Garden is a Hit! 

This term we opened our brand-new PBL Games Garden and it’s already a crowd favourite!

Students have been loving the chance to enjoy some fun and friendly playtime with Giant Guess Who, Jenga, skipping ropes, and the ever-popular Grip Ball!

It’s wonderful to see so many happy faces building friendships, taking turns, and showing great teamwork during their play. We love seeing our PBL values in action!

School Improvement

Our Strategic Plan 2023 - 2026

Our 2023-2026 strategic plan encourages us to R.I.S.E. to the challenge;

R – Responsive Curriculum. We want to ensure that our curriculum is relevant to our local kids, is responsive to modern educational trends and is interesting for our students.

I – Innovative Instruction. We want to capitalise on being Mackay’s first school with laptop classes to ensure that through the use of engaging teaching approaches and clever use of digital technology, every lesson is exciting and engaging for our students.

S – Strengthened Systems. Our 2022 school review revealed that there are strong systems in place with regards to how we operate at VPSS. In deference to the great work that has come before, we want to ensure that we strengthen these to continue our great progress.

E – Expert Educators. We want to ensure that our kids at Victoria Park are learning from the very best educators and have committed to facilitating this.

School Opinion Survey

Parents and caregivers will have now received an email requesting your participation in this year's School Opinion Survey. This is a chance for all families of children attending Queensland State Schools to provide feedback about the school your child attends. The survey is confidential with all results consolidated and reported back to the school at its conclusion. The survey should take under five minutes and will be open until Friday August 22, 2025. Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. 

Attendance

In 2025, our school has committed to strengthening systems around attendance. In addition to seeking support from school staff, you can find lots of strategies and resources to help you to promote excellent attendance at school for your child here;

Health & Safety 

From the P&C

Victoria Park State School is lucky to have an incredible Parents and Citizens Association. Here you can find out all about what our committee is up to. We very much encourage anyone and everyone to get involved - many hands make light work! 

P&C Meetings are held every 2nd Wednesday at 3pm or 6pm. 

Old style sports shirts further price reduction  Order on Flexischools today or pop into the uniform shop Monday mornings or Wednesday afternoons.

$10 - while stock lasts 

(Please note new design shirt prices will be at regular price of $35 each and in first wave will be limited to 1 shirt per child).

Contact Us

Phase Leaders

To ensure we get to know each and every one of our students, each member of our school leadership team oversees a cohort of students. 'Phase Leaders' are the next step to resolving an issue after the classroom teacher has been contacted. 

ECDP Phase Leader: Ms Roanna Capone - ecapo4@eq.edu.au 

Prep Phase Leader: Mrs Kristi Elworthy - kelwo2@eq.edu.au 

Year 1 Phase Leader: Ms Roanna Capone - ecapo4@eq.edu.au 

Year 2 Phase Leader: Mrs Kristi Elworthy - kelwo2@eq.edu.au 

Year 3 Phase Leader: Mrs Jenny Whittington - jwhit211@eq.edu.au 

Year 4 Phase Leader: Mrs Jenny Whittington - jwhit211@eq.edu.au 

Year 5 Phase Leader: Mrs Sarah Mutton - samut0@eq.edu.au 

Year 6 Phase Leader: Mrs Sarah Mutton - samut0@eq.edu.au 

Phone conversations or appointments to speak to Phase Leaders can be made by calling the office (4951 6333). 

Staff List

Email addresses for all teaching staff can be found below. We ask that parents respect teachers' right to disconnect outside of work hours and be reminded that emails may not always be answered immediately - especially during the day when teachers are teaching. Urgent messages should instead be communicated to the office via a phone call (4951 6333).

Staff Contact List: https://victoriaparkss.schoolzineplus.com/staff-email-list 

Victoria Park Community Noticeboard