Term 4 Week 4

Principal's Report

Dear Coolum Community,

Term 4 is well and truly flying ahead and it won’t be long until we are getting the tinsel out! 😉 Below are some messages and reminders for this fortnight. Thank you for your ongoing connection and support for our school. This week I spoke to the families of our prep students for 2026 and shared what a great community we have here at Coolum. It is unique to have such a strong connection between school and families, and I think that that was clearly evident during our Coolum Carnival last week! Read on!

Coolum Carnival – A Huge Success!

A heartfelt thank you to our amazing P&C Association, all the volunteers (including our staff volunteering their time), and our generous sponsors who made this year’s Coolum Carnival such a huge success! The energy, creativity, and community spirit on display were truly inspiring. From the rides and food to the entertainment and good old-fashioned stalls, it was a fantastic celebration of everything that makes Coolum special. Your support helps us create memorable experiences for our students and strengthens the bonds within our school community. And those fireworks were amazing! Look out 2026!

World Teachers’ Day – Celebrating Our Educators

This Friday, we celebrated World Teachers’ Day, a special occasion to honour the incredible work our teachers do every day. At Coolum, we are privileged to have a team of passionate, dedicated educators who inspire, nurture and guide our students with care and commitment. Whether it’s through creative learning experiences, quiet encouragement, or tireless preparation, our teachers make a lasting impact. Thank you to our families who joined us in showing appreciation—your kind words and gestures meant the world.

Day for Daniel – Safety Awareness

Also, this week we recognised Day for Daniel, Australia’s largest child safety awareness event. Students and staff wore red to honour Daniel Morcombe and participated in age-appropriate activities focused on personal safety. These included discussions around recognising unsafe situations, knowing how to react, and understanding the importance of reporting concerns to trusted adults. We encourage families to continue these conversations at home—together, we can empower our children to stay safe.

Road Safety Reminders

With the warmer weather and increased activity around school drop-offs and pick-ups, it’s a timely reminder to stay vigilant about road safety. Please:

• Use designated crossing areas and follow traffic lights rules.
• Avoid parking in no-stopping zones or across driveways. This includes our drop off and pick up zone at the front of the school.
• Encourage children to exit vehicles on the footpath side.
• Be mindful of speed limits around the school zone.

Safety is a shared responsibility, and we appreciate your support in keeping our students safe.

Messages for Students During the Day

Having two very busy and active young boys myself, I know firsthand how full diaries are and how difficult it can be to keep on top of it all! During the day, our front office team receive many emails and calls to pass on messages to students about their end of day routine and changes to plans. Please be mindful of this and only contact the office if the plans change due to an emergency. Arranging afternoon routines in the morning before school and communicating these clearly to students will help free up the office team to effectively communicate the emergency changes. Thank you for your support with this.

Class Construction Process for 2026

This year, we have had a conversation with students around who they work well with in preparation for next year’s classes. A part of this conversation is also that they might be in a class with new students that they do not know yet and that they might not be friends with at playtime. As part of our ongoing focus on student wellbeing and inclusion, we encourage families to talk with their children about the importance of getting along with others, even if they aren’t close friends. Respectful relationships are built on kindness, empathy, and inclusion.

Here are a few inclusive behaviours parents can model and reinforce:

• Greeting others warmly – a simple hello can go a long way.
• Listening respectfully – showing interest in others’ ideas and feelings.
• Including others in games or conversations – especially those who may feel left out.
• Speaking kindly – using positive language, even during disagreements.
• Celebrating differences – encouraging curiosity and appreciation for diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

This will prepare students and set up a positive mindset towards their new classes for next year and allow them to respond well when not all of their friends are in their new class. This change each year builds resiliency and provides an opportunity for a growth mindset. By modelling these behaviours at home and in the community, we help our children develop the social skills they need to thrive in school and beyond.

Thank you for your continued partnership in making Coolum State School a safe, supportive and inspiring place to learn.

Have a great fortnight,

Shannyn

Principal Coolum State School

Student Council - Christmas Appeal

Hope, Hope, Hope Christmas Appeal

In week 7 we are inviting all our students to participate in an act of kindness. This year, as a school, we will be collecting donations for both Vinnies and The Salvation Army. Students will be encouraged to bring in an item to be included in a class ‘Hope, Hope, Hope Box’ that will be presented to these wonderful charities.

Life is tough and some families find it tougher than others, especially in December.  Our School Council has decided they want to help again. Last year many students brought in items that were then passed on to those in need via The Salvation Army. This year we are spreading out help to include Vinnies, another fabulous charity that generously helps families within our community.

During week 7 we are asking students to bring in items that can be passed on to families. Suggestions of items that can be accepted are below and will be sent home in a flyer next week. Products that cannot be accepted include items that will deteriorate e.g., salads, vegetables, fruit, meat and electrical items or gift vouchers. Please note, only new or unused items can be accepted.

You can bring one item or more if you wish, some items on the list can be bought for a dollar. We are aiming to provide a variety of items across the school so if you would like to know what has already been donated by your child’s class, please check in with your class teacher and they will be able to update you.

What next?

• A flyer with details of what can be donated will be sent home next week.
• Week 7 bring donations to your class.
• Friday November 21, the class teachers will organise for their class box of donations to be brought to parade so that donations can be presented to Vinnies at Senior Parade and The Salvation Army at Junior Parade.
• The charities will share between them whatever our students provide to best support the community. These charities will take our school donations to their collection points and sort the items into hampers ready for a Christmas delivery to those in need.

We know our Coolum students have a big heart and love to demonstrate their kindness in school. At this time of year, we would like to support our community and spread some kindness and Christmas cheer beyond our school boundaries.

Student Council

Premier's Reading Challenge

📚 Premier’s Reading Challenge 2025 – Results Are In! 🎉

The results are in from this year’s Premier’s Reading Challenge, and what a page-turning success it has been! Students across Coolum State School have been busy reading their way through twenty or more books during the challenge period — and many went far beyond that goal!

We are so proud of our students’ enthusiasm, imagination, and love of reading. Here are our top readers from each year level:

🏆 Overall School Champion Reader:
Indigo R (2H) with a whopping 535 books!

🍦 Top Reading Class:
2H — together they read an incredible 1,955 books!
They will be celebrating with a well-deserved ice-cream sundae party!

1B were a close second, reading 1520 books and 4W in third place with 1000 books read. 

📖 Whole-School Reading Total:
Last year, our students read 9,937 books.
This year, we smashed that record with an amazing 14,827 books read! Way to go Coolum!

🎯 House Spirit Points:

Congratulations to Marutchi House for earning the most spirit points this year!

Every student who completed the challenge received a special certificate from the Queensland Premier — Please see your teacher if you missed your certificate.

👏 Well done, Coolum readers! Your efforts have made this year’s challenge one to remember. Let’s see if we can turn even more pages next year and set a brand-new record!

Susan Gers

Reading Challenge Coordinator 2025

P & C Newsletter

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Coolum OSHC

This is the link to the full program on the website (www.coolumafterschoolcare.com.au):

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2026 Prep Enrolments

Student Of The Week

Lost property

Lost property is situated next to the uniform shop. It is filling up with lost jumpers and jackets. There are also lots of water bottles and lunch boxes that will be disposed of on Friday, as due to health reasons, they can not be held over the holidays. Please check lost property before Friday for any misplaced items. Please fully name (first & last names) all items brought to school, that way they can be returned to the student.

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. 

CDC Queensland Bus information