Victoria Park State School Newsletter - Week 8, Term 2, 2025
Principal's Report
Uniforms
Recently we have introduced new and improved sports shirts. They include artwork designed by one of our school dads, Andrew Doyle. They look amazing and are a welcome upgrade to our sports uniform selection. Andrew has provided us an explanation of the meaning of the symbols used in his design: The 3 big circle centre pieces represent the 3 disciplines that a core in the school. The 1st one represents the sporting discipline with the circle acting as a sports field with tracks around. The 2nd represents the academic discipline with an elder/teacher passing on knowledge to the young ones and teaching the ways. The 3rd one represents the arts/music discipline with traditional instruments in the centre. And the designs in the background represent all the services and people working in the background to make the school as deadly as it can be.
With the cooler weather requiring students to wear warmer clothing, it is time to ensure your child has the correct school winter uniform. Navy jumpers/jackets and navy track pants or tights for girls are acceptable. Other coloured clothing is not part of Vic Park’s school uniform. Please do not allow students to wear slippers or other footwear as it is very impractical during their daily activities. Please make sure all items are named so they can be returned to their owner if they ever get misplaced. Finally, a reminder that necklaces are not part of our uniform and must not be worn to school.
Congratulations
We have had a few fantastic events recently that must be mentioned. A number of students performed last week in our Twilight Concert and wowed everyone with their musical talents. Secondly, the Sports Carnival went off without a hitch, and a great time was had by all. A few records were broken, and all students can be proud of their efforts. Neptune were the overall winners for the Sports Carnival; however, Jupiter and Mercury were not far behind. A big thank you to all the parents and to the staff who supported students in these events. The many hours of preparation and work you did behind the scenes contributed to our student’s success and is appreciated.
Mrs Dinsdale took a small group to the Readers Cup last week. They competed against 12 other schools from across Mackay region. Although they didn’t place, they won a book each.
Two of our budding musicians have been successful applicants for the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University State Honours Ensemble Program in August. Congratulations to Lyla Morrison playing the double bass, and Karina Ribeiro on the cello. Well done girls, your hard work is paying off!
Date Claimers
Our Year 5 cohort are off to camp this week in Yeppoon. They are leaving Monday morning and returning Wednesday afternoon. We are confident they will have a fabulous time and learn invaluable life lessons from this experience.
This Thursday 19th June is a Public Holiday for the Mackay Show Day. We will see the students again at school on Friday – please remember that this is a regular school day with normal lessons, so please ensure your child has a good night sleep after all the Show excitement. No Show Bags or Show items are to be brought to school please.
Our Rugby League Football Teams have been playing well every Wednesday afternoon this term and doing themselves and Vic Park proud! Our Football Coach, Mrs Taylor Warrell, is/has been doing an incredible job coaching the team, well done and thank you Mrs Warrell! At 4pm, this Wednesday 18th June, we have one team playing in the semi-finals. Spectators are welcome to come and cheer the team on at Abbott Park on Casey Avenue, field 2. Good luck to all!
Many of our students will represent Vic Park SS in week 10 (24th and 25th June) at Southern Suburbs Athletics competition. We have a large number of very talented athletes at our school. We wish them well as they step up to compete against students from the other schools south of the Pioneer River. If successful, they will go on to compete at the Mackay District Athletics competition in July.
Report Cards are in the final stages of being written by Teachers. These will be emailed out to parents on Wednesday week 10, 25th June.
A Silent Disco is being held on Thursday 26th June for all students. The Positive Behaviour for Learning team (PBL) are kindly organising this fun event to celebrate a great Term 2. Students will groove to tunes of their liking with a set of headphones. We look forward to seeing their moves and having a lot of fun!
Finally, we will have a Netball and Football Gala Day on the last day of term, 27th June. This will be for students willing to participate from Year 5 and 6.
Term 3
We have a number of things occurring in the first 2 weeks that we are preparing for. Life Education lesson for P-4 students, followed by the Talk About It lessons for Yr 5 & 6 students will educate our students on making healthy decisions. School photos are also being held on 15th & 16th July which will keep us all very busy! More information will be available on these events shortly.
We’ve had a huge response from students in Year 5 and 6 to participate in the Maths Challenge at St Joseph’s school in July next term. These students have been practicing their maths skills each week in preparation.
The CQ Regional Shield Netball team have been training all term every Wednesday morning in the hall with Miss Moohin and Mrs Dinsdale. They have been fundraising selling tickets in the 100s board and Cadbury chocolate frogs. These students will travel to Tannum Sands in week 2 to compete. There will also be a Rugby League team travelling to compete at this Carnival.
Don't forget, all events get uploaded to our live calendar which can be accessed at any time here.
Visitors in the Grounds
Thank you to all the parents and caregivers who have responded to our request to sign in at the Office if needing to be on the school grounds between 9am – 2:30pm. Thank you also for respecting the process of being off school grounds prior to 8:00am and after 3:10pm on weekdays. We have noticed parents waiting within the grounds prior to 9:00am and after 2:30pm are respectfully refraining from interrupting lessons, and we thank you for this. We appreciate your co-operation in keeping our students safe and focussed on their learning.
Jenny Whittington,
A/ Principal
Celebrating Success
READERS CUP
Readers Cup is the flagship event of the Children’s Book Council of Australia – Queensland Branch.
It is a state-wide event where teams of students read sets of books and then compete with other teams in their region to answer quiz questions.
Winners from each regional competition then compete in the State Final.
ART ON SHOW
Congratulations to Flynn on his outstanding achievements in the Primary Section of the Mackay Show!
Flynn has impressively earned 2 First Place awards, 2 Second Place awards, and 3 Third Place awards across 5 photography categories for the primary school age group.
We are so proud of his creativity and dedication — well done, Flynn! Keep shining and capturing the world through your lens.
Honours Ensemble
ATHLETICS CARNIVAL
FANFARE
VPSS Choir Hits the Right Notes! 
Last Monday, our amazing school choir proudly represented Victoria Park SS at the Choral Fanfare statewide competition, and they brought home a GOLD AWARD! 
Their outstanding performance has qualified them as Central Queensland Finalists, and we couldn’t be prouder!Huge thanks to our dedicated teachers Mrs. Miles, Mrs. Nacev & Mrs. Shan for their leadership and support.
And a special shoutout to Mrs. Rozekrans for her beautiful piano accompaniment. 
Well done, VPSS Choir you’ve done us proud!
RUGBY LEAGUE
Victoria Park State School Vicious Pigs have made the Semi-Finals
We’re excited to share that our very own Vicious Pigs have made it to the Semi-Finals! We warmly invite you to come along and cheer them on as they take on Mackay West State School.
Your support means the world to the team — seeing family and friends in the crowd really lifts their spirits and motivates them to play their best.
Students of the Week
Week 7
Prep A | Nevaeh | For trying hard during writing time. |
Prep A | Royce | For demonstrating focus and creativity during craft time. |
Prep B | Axel | Outstanding effort and focus when writing. |
Prep B | Wyld | For excellent effort and participation in Maths lessons. |
Prep C | Onyx | For working hard to blend sounds when reading words. |
Prep C | Sapphire | For happily having a red-hot crack at all set tasks. |
1C | Harlan | For being an amazing learner- curious, hardworking, and excited to learn something new every day! |
1C | Raiden | For giving your best, never giving up, and showing what it means to work hard and shine bright! |
1D | River | For being a kind and compassionate member of our class. Well done, River! |
2/3 | Hazel-Grace | For working hard in all of her assessments and modelling our school rules to others. |
2/3 | Leyland | For being kind to others and putting in his best effort into assessment. Amazing job Leyland! |
3/4 | Elianna | For working extremely hard on all of your assessment tasks and improving your self-confidence. |
3/4 | Kahmahli | For working extremely hard on all of your assessment tasks. Keep up the great work! |
4A | Kassidie | For persisting in all activities even when challenged. Well Done! |
4A | Tori | For persisting in all activities even when challenged. Well done! |
4C | Aylah | Displaying fantastic work habits and is a happy, friendly class member. |
4C | Frank | For being a critical thinker and creative learner, who enjoys new challenges. |
5A | Ace | For your hard work and efforts during our assessment period. Great job! |
5A | Alexander | For creatively inserting researched facts into your persuasive assessment. Impressive! |
5B | Lucas | For your improving confidence in classroom participation is amazing to see. |
5B | Marikia | For always bringing a positive attitude and beautiful manners to class. |
5/6S | Madison | Brilliant, well-sequenced persuasive argument using expanded noun groups and high modality. |
5/6S | Titus | For an outstanding persuasive argument based on Ned Kelly. |
6A | Halle | Using initiative and working diligently to complete assessment tasks to the best of your ability. |
6A | Linkinn | For your resilience and dedication in catching up on assessment tasks and always working hard. |
6A | Saoirse | For showing strong effort and commitment to achieving high standards in assessment tasks. |
6A | Theney | For your consistent hard work and positive attitude toward classroom assessments. |
6B | Cally | For putting exceptional effort into everything you do to ensure it is your absolute best work! |
Week 8
Prep A | Elayna | For achieving personal goals. Well done, Elayna! |
Prep A | Joan | Your improved confidence has helped you achieve amazing results this Term. Well done, Joan! |
Prep B | Benny | For presenting an entertaining and well sequenced retell. |
Prep B | Elijah | For being a Maths Wizard when adding and taking away. |
Prep C | Baylee | For being a kind and caring friend. |
Prep C | Oakley | For being a kind and caring friend. |
1C | Francis | For approaching every day with enthusiasm, cheerfulness and a willingness to do his best. |
1C | Vela | For being a kind and responsible member of our class, who is a role model to others. Well done! |
1D | Rydah | For trying your best and showing resilience at the Athletics Carnival. Well done, Rydah! |
2A | Isabelle | For always trying her best and showing a positive attitude – great work, Isabelle! |
2A | Phoebe | For showing great determination to complete assessments after being unwell – fantastic effort, Phoebe! |
2B | Adeline | For a fantastic effort with her reading assessment. |
2C | Dane | For settling in quickly and showing enthusiasm, kindness, and a positive attitude! |
2C | Tinaye | For achieving an outstanding result by scoring 100% on the spelling test. |
2/3 | Aliyahst | For his awesome effort in his athletics events. Great job Aliyahst! |
2/3 | Miya | For amazing effort in her assessment and being a helpful student in the classroom. Great work! |
3/4 | John | For always having a ‘never give up’ attitude and giving everything your best shot. |
3/4 | Kayde | For fantastic efforts and outstanding behaviour at the Athletics Carnival. Great job! |
4A | Lennyn | For always having a happy, kind attitude towards everyone. |
4A | Sarah | For working hard throughout the months on her schoolwork. |
4B | Emily | Excellent effort completing assessments with greater independence. Awesome work Emily! |
5B | Mia | For being a kind and thoughtful person and looking out for your friend. |
5B | Scarlett | For your continued hard work and being the first one to finish ALL your assessments! |
5/6M | Aria | Fantastic effort to complete all assessment tasks. |
5/6S | Reese | For 20/20 on her end of semester spelling test. You are a legend! |
6B | Scarlett | For always being hard-working, helpful and respectful! |
Date Claimers
Don't forget that you can find key dates in our live calendar linked below in addition to our weekly 'what's happening' card on SZapp.
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)
PBL Goals of the Week
Below are our two PBL goals for this fortnight;
- Keeping hands & feet to ourselves
- Following instructions
Coming in Term 3!
1000 Gotchas in Prep A
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.
End of Semester Report Cards
In delivering a responsive curriculum, students undertake units of work across each term that culminate in summative assessment tasks that collectively inform the achievement results on end of semester report cards. Accordingly, what you see reflected on report cards is the product of lots of learning across the entire semester. Students receive an achievement and effort result for each learning area in addition to a result for behaviour. At Victoria Park State School, additional comments are provided for behaviour as well as one comment that reflects the general achievement of our learners. The scales used for report cards in Queensland State Schools are included below. Semester 1 report cards will be issued via email on Wednesday June 25th.
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
Parentline is funded by the Qld government to offer free and confidential, one-off or ongoing telephone counselling and support for parents and others who care for young people. We know that families are complex and that anything can affect the functioning of a family. We are available from 8am - 10pm, 7 days per week. Every day of the year.
Parents and carers have the option to call or use our web chat. Regardless, you are always speaking with a degree qualified counsellor who is able to offer support, guidance, and therapeutic care.
Whether you concerns feel big or small, we are here to support Qld families.
Phone 1300 30 1300 or visit www.parentline.com.au