A critical reminder - please use the school crossing

Safety around our school is everyone’s responsibility. All parents and carers are asked to use the designated school crossing when arriving and leaving.

There are growing concerns about families moving between parked cars, crossing behind reversing vehicles and stepping between buses—actions that put both children and adults at serious risk.

Multiple near misses have occurred, including students and adults standing in blind spots as cars reverse and families walking directly into oncoming traffic, forcing drivers to brake suddenly or stop. These situations could have devastating consequences.

With the number of unsafe crossings increasing daily, it is only a matter of time before a serious accident occurs. Please model safe behaviour, use the school crossing, and remain alert—particularly around reversing vehicles, e-bikes, and scooters.

Let’s work together to keep our Sunshiners safe. Please find attached a flyer which we ask that you discuss with your children on how to cross the road safely. 

Do you have a friend, neighbour or family member with a child starting school next year? Invite them along to our upcoming Prep Parent Information Session. It’s a great opportunity to hear about our excellent Prep Transition Program, meet key staff and discover what makes our school such a welcoming and supportive place to start the school journey. Registration: PTP- Parent Information Session registration #3 2025

Family holidays during term time: what parents need to know

We understand that from time to time, families may choose to take holidays during the school term. While we acknowledge and process exemption applications for these planned absences in line with Department of Education guidelines, it is important for families to be aware of what this means in terms of curriculum and classroom learning.

While an approved exemption allows your child to be absent from school, it does not require teachers to provide individual catch-up work or re-teach missed content. This is because holidays taken during term time are not considered a reasonable excuse for absence in terms of curriculum delivery, and schools are not obligated to replicate learning for students who miss class due to family travel.

During time away, students may miss important lessons, activities, and assessments, and this is a natural consequence of being absent during scheduled teaching time. With an increasing number of students taking leave for holidays during term, it is not feasible or sustainable for teachers to prepare personalised work packages or offer additional instruction outside of regular class time.

This approach differs from absences due to illness or unavoidable and approved reasons, where catch-up support may be provided as appropriate.

To support your child’s learning during any planned absence, we recommend the following:

• Visit the Department’s Learning@Home website, which offers high-quality, curriculum-aligned resources.
• Contact your child’s class and specialist teachers before the absence to request an overview of the key content that will be covered, so you can support your child’s learning independently while away.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in helping us maintain a fair and manageable approach for all staff and students. If you would like to follow up on general topics your child may have missed, you’re welcome to contact the relevant teacher. However, please note that teachers are not expected to provide one-on-one instruction outside normal class time or catch individuals up during class for holiday-related absences.

Thank you for working with us to support consistent, high-quality learning for all students.

Breakfast Club is back!

We’re excited to announce that Breakfast Club has returned and will be held every Thursday morning from 8:00 – 8:20am!

All students from Year 1 to Year 6 are welcome to come along and enjoy a healthy start to the day, with a choice of a banana smoothie, toast and fresh fruit. To help our youngest students settle in, Prep students are welcome too but must be accompanied by a parent or carer.

Our Breakfast Club is more than just a morning meal – it's a wonderful opportunity for students to relax, make connections and start the day in a positive and social way. Mats are set out to create a welcoming space where children can sit, chat and enjoy each other’s company.

The club is run by Chappy Simone along with the support of our amazing peer and school leaders. It’s also a great time for parents to connect – tea and coffee will be available, so feel free to stay, catch up, and enjoy the morning community atmosphere.

We also invite you to come along and meet our new principal, Elise Maguire! It’s a perfect chance to say hello and get to know the person helping to lead our school community.

We look forward to seeing many smiling faces bright and early on Thursday mornings!

Bully Zero Workshop

A valuable opportunity is being provided to parents/carers of our schools within the region, to participate in a free face-to-face 1.5-hour workshop facilitated by Bully Zero, a leading bully prevention organisation. The workshop Bully Zero, is designed to proactively support parents to understand what bullying is and what parents can do to support their children to be safe both online and when face to face with their peers.

The attached flyer provides information regarding locations, inclusive of the online option and how to register for the workshops. Participants must register for the workshops.

As the cooler weather settles in, we’d like to remind families of our school uniform expectations, which help foster a strong sense of belonging, pride and equality among our students.

During the colder months, students should be wearing their school jumper and blue track pants to keep warm. If a school jumper is unavailable, a plain blue jumper may be worn as an alternative. Please ensure it is free from hoods, logos or writing.
We understand that many students wear beanies on chilly mornings, which is completely fine! However, beanies need to be removed and placed in school bags before entering the classroom.

Footwear is another important part of our uniform. Students are expected to wear plain white school socks, ideally paired with plain black, closed-in shoes to ensure comfort, safety, and consistency.

Thank you for your support in maintaining our school’s high standards. Wearing the correct uniform helps students feel part of our community and ready for learning every day.

If you have any questions or need support with uniform items, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office.

Performing Arts

This term in the Arts, students will be focusing on Media Arts. Below is an overview of the learning experiences your child will be engaging with:

• Years 1 and 2 – Students are exploring the fundamentals of communication by identifying different audiences and designing personalised greeting cards. Through this, they are learning to craft thoughtful messages and appropriate visual elements tailored to specific recipients—such as family members, friends, or members of the community. This unit supports the development of empathy, design thinking, and purposeful expression.
• Years 3 and 4 – Students are being introduced to the world of advertising and media literacy. They are learning how persuasive language, visual elements, and sound can influence audiences by developing their own advertising materials. This includes a radio jingle, a short television commercial, and a print advertisement. These projects allow students to apply storytelling techniques while critically examining how media messages are constructed.
• Years 5 and 6 – Students are collaborating to produce a class magazine, with each learner responsible for a section aligned with their interests—ranging from sports and current affairs to entertainment, puzzles, and feature writing. This project fosters teamwork, independent research, and editorial skills, while encouraging students to express their voice and creativity in a published format.

Remember our Preforming Arts extracurricular activities available to all learners this term:

Sunshine Spectacular 

This special event celebrates the talents and hard work of our students across the Performing Arts. Families will enjoy performances from both our Concert and Strings Bands, as well as presentations from our dance, singing and drama groups. It’s a wonderful opportunity for students to demonstrate their skills and creativity in a live setting and for the school community to come together in support of the Arts.

Unveiling of our Black Cockatoo sculpture

Families are welcome to join us on Thursday 5 August 11:30am with special guests to officially unveil this sculpture. More information to follow.

Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD)

Each year, Australian schools take part in the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). This important process helps build a clearer picture of the number of students with disability in schools and the adjustments made to support their learning.

The census date for this year’s NCCD is Friday 1 August.

The attached letter from our Learning Engagement Team provides further details, including how the data is collected, who it involves and how student privacy is protected throughout the process.

SBSS NCCD letter to parents/carers.pdf

SBSS NCCD letter to parents/carers _pdf 626.09 KB

Premier’s Reading Challenge

We are participating in the Premier’s Reading Challenge! All students are invited to join and discover the joy of reading. Whether it’s a novel, picture book, comic or audiobook—every book counts.

The challenge runs until Thursday 22 August (Book Week Parade Day), with prizes and certificates awarded to those who complete it.
Interested students can ask their teacher or visit https://readingchallenge.education.qld.gov.au/