Term 2 Week 6

Principal's Report

Dear Coolum Community,

It has been great to see so many students wearing their school jumpers and sticking to our uniform policy as the weather has turned cold! Please remember that jumpers need to be our own school jacket, or a plain jumper in our dark blue school colour. These should not have brands, writing or logos on them. Also remember to write names on these as we usually accumulate lots in lost property as students remove them when the day warms up!

A highlight for me this week was visiting our Year 3 students, who were creating persuasive speeches to convince me to celebrate Donut Day at Coolum State School! Well, they were a very persuasive bunch and they won me over!! Thank you to our P&C who supported this activity in our school and to our Year 3 teachers who gave our students a ‘real life’ context for their learning. The kids were so engaged and enjoyed using many language features to be as persuasive as they could! I never stood a chance! 🍩

Our Coolum SS P&C have also attached some information in our newsletter this week. Our P&C are very active in our school and work enormously hard to create a positive connection for parents and our school. I would encourage you to have a read of their newsletter and connect with them around opportunities to be part of the team. It is a wonderful group who are always looking for parents to volunteer, provide feedback or just connect with. A huge shout out to our P&C members (past and present) who recently finalised the payment for the roof over our courts. An amazing effort!

QParent Reminder:  Last term we joined Coolum SHS and asked parents to register for QParents  If you have not yet taken up the offer to register. We are wanting to have 100% of our school community registered so that we can begin to use the online consents etc in our school. This is not able to happen if we don’t have most of our parents registered. Please see the link below for more information.

Sunshine Coast Council Update: Recently we had a day of heavy rain and school road near the traffic lights became flooded very quickly, causing significant traffic delays. You might have even seen Mr Stanieg and Mr O’Brien out there helping cars through safely! I have been in touch with the council and they have advised me that the localised flooding at the intersection of School Road and Yandina - Coolum Road was caused by a blockage within the Council’s stormwater network. An urgent maintenance job was raised, and the blockage was successfully cleared by Council’s drainage maintenance team that same afternoon. IT’s great to know that this should not continue to happen during rainy periods.

Student safety at school is incredibly important for us all and it is timely to remind students that this continues during walks to and from school, and also outside of school hours. Travelling to school or other familiar places by themselves is an opportunity for children to develop confidence and new skills. Many children start travelling independently in primary school. For the many students walking to and from school, remember to (from the Daniel Morcombe Foundation):

• Choose the safest route to school and back
• Use basic road safety skills such as how to safely cross the road and only ever crossing when the green walk signal is active at lights or at a pedestrian crossing
• Walk with siblings or friends if possible
• Always walk towards traffic but on the footpath or nature strip
• Be safety aware and on the lookout for hazards such as reversing cars
• When using headphones, only use one earpiece to stay alert to other noises like traffic or people
• Do not make stops along the way (ie to play in the park) unless this has been discussed and agreed to
• Do not accept a lift from anyone who is not known. Remember the family password rule
• Talk to a trusted adult at school or home if you ever feel unsafe. Particularly if an incident has occurred on the way home, or if they have been approached by a stranger. Tell a trusted adult to get help.

Have a great fortnight,

Shannyn

Deputy Principal's Report

I cannot believe we are in the latter half of the term already. Both Year levels will soon be completing assessment tasks across many learning areas. The English units this term are oral tasks, although a great deal of preparation has to go into researching and writing the speech to be delivered.

In Year 5 students are researching what things are impacting Australia's environment and how we are managing these effects. They are posing ways to improve our management to better look after Australia's environment. They will present their findings in a News Report.

In Year 6 students are creating and presenting a persuasive proposal for a business idea for Barnes Lane to the local council. We are hoping to present some of our best ideas to local councillors Maria Suarez and Taylor Bunnag. 

The Year 5 students all participated in the first UPP (Unleashing Personal Potential) day last Monday. Here are some key messages that were given to the students to think about as they prepare to be the leaders of the school in 2026. Here is the theme of Leadership that was used throughout the day.

LEADERSHIP IS INFLUENCE

What is influence? Any time we influence the actions of another, we are a leader. John Maxwell tells us that “leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Influence is...

• “to have an effect on the behaviour of someone or something”
• “the power to change or affect someone or something”
• “a person or thing that affects someone or something in an important way.”

For our students, examples of being a positive influence may include: following the school / classroom rules - as this sets the right example for others; inviting others to join in conversations / games at lunchtimes; taking opportunities to help out fellow students or a teacher.

Year 6 Leaders: Setting the Example for Everyone

Recently, I have visited all our Year 6 classes and talk about a very important topic – being role models in our school community.

As our oldest students, Year 6 are leaders and helpers to everyone else in the school. I reminded them that their actions, words, and attitude set the scene for how we all behave. When they show kindness, respect, and responsibility, they help create a positive and happy school for everyone!

Being a role model means:

• Showing others how to be kind and respectful
• Helping younger students when they need it
• Following school rules and encouraging others to do the same
• Being proud of doing their best every day
• Being a friend who includes everyone

When Year 6 students act as great role models, they inspire younger students to follow their lead and make our school a safe and happy place to learn and grow.

Leadership isn’t just about being the oldest or having a special badge. It’s about how you treat others, how you solve problems, and how you make good choices even when no one is watching.

To all our Year 6 students — keep being great leaders you are! Remember, your kindness, respect, and courage make a big difference every day. We’re proud of you and can’t wait to see how you continue to make our school an amazing place for everyone.

Terry O’Brien

Deputy Principal Years 5 and 6

4M News

School Council Update

In term 1 our School Councillors surveyed and gathered the opinions and ideas of students throughout the school and then generated a wish list of things that they wanted, to change, update and improve. There were many ideas and from Prep to year 6 and we wanted to share some successes with our community.

The Junior Oval was an area where our students identified a need for more equipment at breaks. Kendall, our School Council Chair and other year six students wrote to Mr Moody to ask for his help. He said, “Yes!”  The Councillors will now be helping him and the year 1 and 2 students to look after the sports equipment that Mr Moody has provided to make their break times more fun. 

There are plenty of football (soccer) players in our school. So, another letter was sent to ask for an extra set of goals to make sure there could be plenty of games played and give Coolum the opportunity to host more house and school competitions. Mrs Taylor and the P&C said, “Yes!” and came to our aid. During this term Mr Moody will be making sure another set of goals are bought.  These will be placed on the year 3 oval but will be able to be used by multitudes of students throughout the year. Thank you, Mrs Taylor and the P&C, you rock!

After the road works last year our Preps and OSCH students have been finding that the main road is visible from their playground, and it’s been noisy. With several trees having been removed the area has felt very bare. So, Mrs Moore on behalf of the School Council, approached the Sunshine Coast Council (SCC) and they agreed to help. Last week our School Councillors and the SCC Arboriculture team got together to replant the garden, beside the fence, to brighten up that area. It is looking great!  Now we are asking our Prep students to help water the plants.  If anyone has a small watering can that they are no longer using, or sandcastle buckets we could have, please drop them off at the office and we will put them to good use.

If that wasn’t enough. After petitioning the school Deputies to rethink the use of the Senior Adventure Playground, it has now been agreed that Year 3 and 4 will have sole access at morning tea and Year 5 and 6 students will have the freedom to play on the equipment at second break, every day. We hope everyone enjoys these new time slots.

Watch out for more success and hard work from our Councillors to make Coolum an even greater school. If you have an idea that you would like to be considered, please approach a class councillor or send us a letter via the school office.

Mrs Albrecht and Mrs Moore (on behalf of the School Council)

My New Gallery

Environmental News

Next Tuesday, 3^rd June, will be our Plastic Free Tuesday. The class with the least amount of rubbish in their lunchboxes will win the Environmental Trophy on parade. While we have a special Plastic Free Day each term, we encourage you to make every day plastic free! See below for ways to make your lunchboxes plastic free.

I’d like to give a big shout out to 6Q and their containers team. Every Friday this group of dedicated students go through every green 10c container bin in school. This year all our students are doing a much better job at only putting into the green bins containers that can be donated. The 6Q team are finding fewer contaminants like food waste, chip packets and straws! However, there is still too much liquid going into the bins, but that is a work in progress. It is important that every student in school helps by only putting 10c containers into these bins and using our regular waste bins for all other rubbish.  And don’t forget, empty your containers before they go into the bins.

I want to give another big shout out to a group of girls in 4M. Last week, 4M were one of our Waste Warrior classes and they did an amazing job at cleaning our school. They were so thorough that they managed to fill two buckets up with rubbish in one day! Well done girls and thank you for your wonderful contribution to keeping our school clean. I hope to see you in the Environmental Team in a couple of years!

Chess Champs

Checkmate! Our Chess Champs Take on the Tournament

On Monday, May 19, Mountain Creek School was buzzing with brainpower as it hosted this year’s thrilling Interschool Individual Age Championship Chess Tournament. With over 300 clever kids from all around the region gathering to compete, it was truly a day where kings, queens, and pawns ruled the school!

Chess might look quiet, but don’t be fooled—it’s a game of strategy, focus, and serious thinking. First played way back in the 1600s, chess challenges players to stay calm under pressure, think several steps ahead, and bounce back from tough moments. Winning feels awesome, but even a loss can teach valuable lessons.

Our school proudly sent a team of 12 sharp-minded students in the Under 10 and Under 12 divisions. Each brave player battled through seven intense matches, showing great sportsmanship, resilience, and team spirit. Whether they were celebrating a win or shaking off a loss, they stayed positive and focused.

Remy from 5C summed it up perfectly: “It was an epic day!”

A huge congratulations to all our chess stars—you made us proud!

My New Gallery

Under 8s Day

Academic Competition

P & C

School Photo day

School Photo Day PCC Hall

Tuesday 10^th & Wednesday 11^th June

Sibling Photo’s 7:45am – 8:30am (Tuesday & Wednesday) PCC Hall

Sibling photo envelopes will be sent home with the eldest sibling of the family. Spare photo envelopes and sibling photo envelopes are available from the office.

SSA Bowls

Student of the Week

CDC Queensland Bus information

Ride Score

Reporting your child's absence

If your child is absent from school it is important that you notify us as soon as possible. To report your child’s absence please either complete the short form available on the website at https://coolumss.eq.edu.au/our-school/absences or telephone us on 5471 9300.

Absences may be reported both on the webform and on the telephone in advance for planned absences.

We thank you for your assistance.

Contact details

Have you changed your mobile number recently? Have you moved house?

It's important that we hold up to date contact details for you and your nominated emergency contacts. If you would like to update your details please pop in to the Administration Office or email us at info@coolumss.eq.edu.au . 

QParents

Did you know that the QParents portal is available for Coolum State School? QParents enables schools to offer parents secure access to information about their child. Parents can communicate directly with the school and update their child’s address and medical conditions and submit reasons for absences.

QParents is available to all families and not just our new families! If you would like to receive your unique invitation code and child's EQ ID please email us info@coolumss.eq.edu.au to request this.