RSS Newsletter 2025 Issue 5
Deputy Principal
It’s hard to believe we’re already in Week 6—this term is absolutely flying by! As we move into the final stretch, it’s a great time to reflect on all the fantastic things happening across our school.
Over the past week, students have been involved in our pre-Athletics Day events, including high jump and the 1500m race. It was great to see so many students giving it a go and being so supportive of each other. Whether competing or cheering from the sidelines, the encouragement and positive attitude on display were a credit to our school.
There have also been many wonderful things happening in classrooms. I’ve seen students focused on structured writing tasks, exploring new topics in Science, and engaging with problem-solving in Maths. Our teachers are doing an excellent job designing purposeful, engaging lessons, and it’s been a pleasure to see the learning progress taking place.
Earlier this term, in Week 4, we had the honour of welcoming Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young, Governor of Queensland, to our school. She spent time with our Prep and Year 1 students, as well as some student representatives. It was a proud moment for Richmond, and the students did an excellent job showing respect and asking thoughtful, confident questions. They were fantastic ambassadors for our school.
Our Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) Focus of the Fortnight is “Accept and Acknowledge Our Own Behaviour.” This focus helps students build accountability and encourages them to reflect on how their actions affect others. It’s an important step in developing respectful, responsible learners.
While the majority of students are showing great behaviour, we have unfortunately had a few incidents involving disrespect and bullying. As part of our response, some high school students spoke at parade this week about the impact of bullying and the importance of kindness and respect. Their message was clear and meaningful. We’d love for you to continue this conversation at home with your children—discussing how they treat others, how they can stand up for themselves and their peers, and how we all contribute to a positive school culture.
Thank you again for your continued support as we work together to keep Richmond State School a safe, inclusive, and inspiring place to learn.
Warm regards,
Scott Jeffery
Deputy Principal
Head of Department - Curriculum
Head of Department – Curriculum
We have now finished Week 6 of Term 2 and it has been amazing to see the growth of our students, both academically and socially, as this term has progressed.
Recognition must go to our incredible teachers for the work they do each and every day, when their learners are in front of them, and outside of school hours. Their support, dedication, and tireless effort results in engaging learning experiences, confident learners, and measurable growth for each individual student.
We are fortunate to timetable Intentional Collaboration Meetings each fortnight, where teachers meet with either the Head of Curriculum or Deputy Principal to discuss their students’ needs and how to further support them. It is a privilege to be part of these conversations and hear the passion our teachers have for their students.
Of course, our classrooms wouldn’t run as smoothly or have a great ratio of staff to students without our Teacher Aide team. They work with our teachers to support our students in the classroom and the playground. They are also incredibly versatile, able to work across subject areas and year levels from Prep-Year 10.
Thank you to our Richmond SS team. Your efforts do not go unnoticed.
Prep – Year 6 English
This term our primary classes have been learning all about Informative Texts in English, which will culminate in them creating their own information report for their assessment. The Prep/1s have been learning about farm animals and are able to connect this with their real-life experiences due to our rural location. The Year 2s have been studying different reptiles including their appearance, diet, habitat and behaviour. Our 3/4s have continued their study of Richmond’s Plesiosaur Penny, with high levels of engagement and effort after their excursion at the beginning of term. Finally, our 5/6 class have been given the opportunity to choose a topic of interest to create their information report about.
Year 9/10 History
This semester I have been fortunate to teach History to our Year 9/10 students. In Term 1 we studied the Making of a Nation: Australia 1780-1901. This term we have been learning all about World War 1 and Australia’s involvement. The students have been actively engaged in their learning, with lively class discussions and thoughtful, considered questions to deepen their understanding. Their openness to learning something new, that they may not have initially found interesting, has been impressive and I have been proud of the learning and effort that has transpired in our classroom this term. Well done Year 9/10s!
Attendance
It is more important than ever for students to attend school all day, every day. This is important not only to ensure continuity of learning, but also to maintain a predictable routine, which children thrive on. Classes are completing assessment, where students are able to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the content taught this term. Absences due to birthdays, holidays, the last week/day of term or just to have a ‘day off’ are not deemed as 'Reasonable Excuses' to be absent from school. If your child must be absent, please inform the school at the earliest opportunity, so teachers are able to plan for your child accordingly.
Please see the below Parent Fact Sheet regarding 'Regular school attendance' by the Department of Education.
Prep-Year 2 Reading Parent Information Session
Thank you to those parents that were able to attend the Reading information session held in Week 4. We hope you found this session beneficial in understanding how children are taught to read, and that it equipped you with strategies to use when reading with your child at home. Thank you to Mrs Ybema and Miss Trace for the work that went into facilitating this session. If you have any questions, or would like further information, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.
Kind regards,
Rachel Evans
Head of Department - Curriculum
Awards
Student awards are given to students who have followed the 4 school rules and gone above expectations to develop their learning skills.
Congratulations to all of our Award Winners in Weeks 4, 5 & 6.
Classrooms
🐮🐔🐷 Prep/1s Exploring Informative Texts! 🐑🐣🌾
Our Prep/1 students have been busy learning all about informative texts! 📚✏️ They’ve been identifying topic-specific vocabulary and practising how to organise information clearly and confidently.
Each week, we’ve explored a different farm animal, and students have recorded:
✅ What it looks like
✅ What it eats
✅ Where it lives
✅ An interesting fact!
Using word walls and sentence starters, students have worked hard to write their very own information reports. To bring their learning to life, they’ve also been building their own farm during play – complete with animals, fences, barns, and lots of imagination! 🐄🚜🌿
We’re so proud of their creativity, curiosity, and growing confidence in writing and sharing facts! 💬👏
Prep - Year 1
Year 2
This term, our Year 2 students have been diving into the wonders of Earth's resources, including soil and water. They have discovered how these vital elements are part of our daily lives and the importance of caring for them. 🌍
Our class has explored the school grounds to identify where we use soil and water at school, including our school vegetable gardens where they found beans, herbs and even some bees. Students then constructed a poster on a conservation strategy.
To bring their learning to life, students crafted their very own grass heads! These green-haired creations will be nurtured and observed throughout the term, offering a hands-on experience in understanding plant growth and the essentials of healthy soil. 🌿
Sport
This term, students have been learning about Athletics.
In preparation for our upcoming Athletics Carnival, students that are 9 years and older have competed in the 1500m and High Jump events. Student engagement was great at these two events and students put in their best efforts.
Well done to all of our students that participated and congratulations to all of 1500m and High Jump winners.
Please see below photos from the High Jump event on Friday 23rd May.
High Jump Event
Athletics Carnival
Thank you to the people who have volunteered to help at the Athletics Carnival. With your support we are now able to run the sausage sizzle for all our students at the Carnival. This now means our school will be providing students with morning tea, fruit break and a sausage sizzle lunch.
Premier's Reading Challenge
📚 Premier’s Reading Challenge Has Begun! 📚
The Premier’s Reading Challenge kicked off recently, and record forms have been sent home with all students. Please make sure to record every book your child reads (this also includes books you read to them) on their form.
Once completed, challenge forms can be returned to the office or handed to the classroom teacher.
All students who complete the challenge will be invited to a special picnic during first break in Term 3! 🧺🌞
Happy reading, everyone! 📖✨
If you have any questions, please see Mrs Ybema.
Important Notices
Sufficient Lunches
Please ensure your child/ren have enough food to cover both breaks. There is an increasing number of students requesting extra food for second break. The school maintains a supply of emergency food items that may not frequently align with individual preferences.
Labelling Student Clothing
We encourage families to write student names on their uniforms and winter wear, as we have a number of clothing items being put in the Lost Property.
Our Lost Property box is overflowing with clothing, hats and lunch containers. If your child/ren are missing items, please come in and check the lost property as we will be taking the items to Red Cross at the end of Term 2.
Hats
We have an increasing number of students requiring a hat from the school to participate in PE lessons. The school has a supply of spare hats for students to borrow; however, it is always better if students have their own. All students have been provided with at least one free hat from the P&C, and families that have been here since the introduction of our new uniform would have also received a hat during the transition which the P&C also provided.
Library
Children's Book Week turns 80 in 2025
Children’s Book Week is The CBCA’s key highlight national event of the year. This year’s celebration will run from Saturday 16 to Saturday 23 August.
The 2025 theme is Book an Adventure! There will be a costume parade after breakfast club Friday 22nd August. We encourage homemade costumes for Book Week, and the judges particularly appreciate the creativity and effort that goes into them. During the week there will be activities for students to participate in.
2025 is also a milestone year for us as we celebrate 80 years of Children’s Book Week! For 8 decades, CBCA has been dedicated to inspiring young minds to journey through the countless worlds that books offer.
Sora
Sora is an online library for students to borrow ebooks from. Sora can be used via an app that is downloaded onto your device or the website on a computer.
https://soraapp.com/library/eduqueenslandau
When asked for your student's school enter Education Queensland. the only other information needed is EQ ID details. Books read in sora can be added to the premiers reading challenge.
If you need any more information, please contact the school.
Chewsday and Friday Breakfast Club
We are moving through the Term quite quickly. Last Friday we had our Week 5 Special Breakfast where students indulged in a hot cooked breakfast.
Our Chewsday Program continues to be very popular with students. The Chewsday Program is a one serve program to supplement student lunch boxes. At times we are able to give students more than one serve, however some weeks they will only receive one.
2025 School Calendar
Tuckshop
Lunch Specials
Community News
If you would like any community events added to the newsletter email -admin@richmondss.eq.edu.au