CELEBRATING STUDENT SUCCESS

In previous newsletters I have shared with you the very pleasing year 3 & 5 NAPLAN results and the Semester One report cards for the whole school. Whilst these are very important measures of our academic success, school is so much more.

Recently I had a parent make a comparison regarding school culture between Milton and another school local to us. She said that the biggest difference she noticed was that we are ‘child centred’ where we are focussed on what is best for the students compared to being ‘adult centred’ where the focus is on what is best for the adults. I took this as a very big compliment for our school, with staff who work very hard to make this happen every day, with the resources we have at our disposal.

We have many successes for our students throughout the school year and below I have included just a few of them to share with you-

GIRLS SOCCER

Our senior girls’ soccer team recently won back-to-back titles in the South East Queensland Soccer Competition. Coached by Mr McMahon, the girls played magnificently, defeating Stretton Ste College (a much larger school) 4-2 in the grand final.

DEBATING

Debating has been successfully reintroduced in year 5/6 thanks to Mrs Lazarus one of our arts teachers.

The following students recently participated in their second debate-

Charlotte, Tilly, Florence, George and Sebastian in year 5

Emily, Max and Trixie in year 6.

Both teams put a huge effort in for their preparation and commitment.

Yr 6 were successful against Somerville House. 

Yr 5 were narrowly defeated by Ironside SS. 

An amazing effort given it’s their second debate ever.

BOOK PRIZES

We are constantly encouraging our students to read regularly, as this opens the door to every other aspect of learning in all subject areas.

This term we continued an initiative which is proudly sponsored by Rhiannon and Thomas Coussens from Place Real Estate (also parents in our school) where one student from each class has been nominated by their teacher to receive a book prize.

This book may be awarded for a variety of reasons. It could be for improved reading, sustained reading at school or home or just for a general love of reading.

All of the books have been selected from our recent Book Fair and as a result, such a large purchase of books has given us credit to select even more books for our library. It’s been a win for everyone.

Thanks so much to Rhiannon and Thomas for their ongoing sponsorship and support for our students.

Below are the recipients for this term-

GENIUS HOUR PROJECT

Many classes across the school undertake Genius Hour, which is about students engaging in something they are passionate about or have a particular interest in which can assist the community.

Abigail Q, a Year 5 student at Milton State School, has made a significant contribution to a charity close to her heart, thanks to the generous support of our school community.

Abigail’s family has a longstanding connection with Our Rainbow House, a charity that provides education and support to disadvantaged children in Zambia. Earlier this term, representatives from Our Rainbow House and a past Milton student visited the school to share the impact of funds raised from the 2024 Disco.

Inspired by this, Abigail used her Genius Hour project time to plan and organise a craft and bake stall with the goal of raising as much money as possible for the charity. She spent countless hours at home creating jewellery, sculpting, sewing purses and baking sweet treats, with wonderful support from her mum and grandma.

In Week 9, Abigail ran her stall in the Fig Tree Courtyard at morning tea. It was a huge success, selling out in just half an hour and raising $336. On top of this, three generous sponsors promised to match her efforts, bringing the total donation to an incredible $1,344.

This money will help Our Rainbow House provide food, clothing and other essentials, supporting children in Zambia to access a quality education and a brighter future.

ART SHOW

Thanks to the outstanding work of our art teacher Mrs Shannon Ravenscroft, the very talented students from Year 4, 1D, 1M & 1NH, have once again produced some amazing artwork.

Every student across the school gets the opportunity to undertake all 5 strands of The Arts curriculum (music, media, visual art, dance & drama) over the course of a school year.

This is a unique program, which does not exist in this format in any other school across Queensland and has been our approach for almost two decades.

STRATEGIC PLANNING- PARENT FORUMS

As a part of our strategic planning for 2026-2029, we will be conducting some parent forums with randomly selected parents from each class being invited in for an hour one afternoon next term to share their thoughts.

Class teachers will host the session, with some specific questions being sent to those selected, prior to the forum.

I will reach out to those randomly selected parents early next term to outline the process and gauge interest in participating.

After these forums take place, we will be sending out an online survey to allow all families to have their input.

Naturally, with any consultation process it is just that, consultation.

We cannot act upon every idea, however we can look at common themes and see how we might address these, whilst continuing to follow our obligations related to systemic requirements and our professional judgment as educators, working hard to deliver the best we can, with the resources we have available.

More info to come next term.

NEW DESIGNATED PLAY AREAS

As of next term, we are trialling some newly designated playground areas for students.

Students have been informed of these changes by their class teachers and on assembly.

We are doing this for a couple of reasons-

• We are finding that with the growth in the lower school numbers (P-2) we cannot accommodate the number of students in and around the Junior Learning Centre if we have older students also playing in that space. In some cases, we are seeing unintended issues/incidents/injuries occurring between younger and older students.
• At the end of this year, Block E (year 4 classroom block) will be removed to make way for the new building construction, due to begin later in 2026. The year 4 classes will be relocated to Block A in 2026 and therefore it makes sense for them to be playing closer to where they will be located.

NEW DESIGNATED PLAY AREAS- This will apply before school and during break times-

• Prep- Year 2- the areas under and around Block C (Junior Learning Centre) Block D (year 5 classrooms and The Hive) and Block E (year 4 classrooms) and the Park Playground (only during school time, not before school). This will include the small sandpit adjacent to the oval and sandpit on the corner of Bayswater St & Haig Rd end of the grounds.

• Year 3-6 - the Fig Tree Courtyard, MOSHC Courtyard (only during break times, not before school), multipurpose area and surrounds, Gregory Park Oval and basketball half court. 

• Year 4 & 5 students can still put their schoolbags at their classroom upon arrival at school and then they will need to move to their designated areas. 

Essentially, the southern end of the school will be for Prep -2 students and the northern end for yr 3-6 students.

This will not limit students from entering/exiting via any gate as we know many siblings will arrive and depart the school together.

Naturally, all students can access the tuckshop, attend various clubs during break times or before school (The Hive, choir etc) but they must return to their designated play areas once completed an activity.

We are confident that this redesignation, will reduce the number of incidents/issues/injuries between older and younger students.

We appreciate your patience and support as we undertake these changes, as it will take some time for students to learn the new rules around designated areas.

NOT RETURNING IN 2026?

As we enter the final term of the 2025 school year, we are once again preparing for our staffing and creating classes for 2026.

With the exception of year 6 students, if for some reason your child/ren will not be returning to our school in 2026, I would appreciate you sending a brief email to Bec in the school reception remme13@eq.edu.au indicating such.

Even if it is just a possibility that you may be leaving, we would like to know so we can forward plan. This does not mean that your child/ren will lose their place in the school should your plans change and they need to remain.

If you have a child that is due to enter prep in 2026 and you are yet to enrol them, please ensure that you download the enrolment forms from the school website and do so ASAP. Similarly, should you know someone who is not yet associated with the school and is intending to enrol, please have them do the same, irrespective of whether it is prep or another year level.

ONLINE SAFETY- GROUP CHATS

It has come to our attention that a number of students in various year levels are part of ‘group chats’ on their iPads through a range of different apps.

Most of the issues that arise with ‘group chats’ originate outside of school hours and are usually initiated on smartphones and then end up infiltrating school life and show up on a student’s iPad.

It is essential that these are monitored by parents and that appropriate online etiquette is discussed frequently.

This is a topic that we discuss in the classroom and we have Online Safety lessons throughout the year, however as the vast majority of these group chat interactions occur at home, we wanted to alert you to this fact.

These online chats are not permitted to be used at school – please ensure these apps are turned off for school.

Please revise these topics with your child:

• Appropriate online language
• Not sharing personal information
• Not sharing images
• What to do if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe
• What to do if someone else has used inappropriate language or images 

Parents and Carers are the first point of call for online situations that occur at home. Please ensure that you are up-to-date with the group conversations and apps that involve online interaction that your child uses. This is important in the new technology age that we find ourselves and our children in.

The link below will take you to our School Website which has Online Safety resources:
https://miltonss.eq.edu.au/curriculum/bring-your-own-device

The link below will take you to the Queensland Government page that has some useful resources around Keeping Kids Safe Online:
https://www.qld.gov.au/youth/relationships-safety-sexuality/staying-safe/stop-cyberbullying/for-parents-and-carers/keeping-kids-safe-online

The link below will take you to a document that can show you how to adapt your child’s iPad settings (including turning off icloud – VERY IMPORTANT)
https://miltonss.eq.edu.au/SupportAndResources/FormsAndDocuments/Documents/BYOD%20Help%20Guides/IPAD%20settings%20for%20parents%20updated%202022.pdf

BE OUR EYES AND EARS

We reply on our school community to ensure that our school remains safe and secure, particularly during the school holiday periods. If you see something that looks suspicious, such as people in the grounds etc, please contact School Watch on 13 17 88 or the police directly.

Every time we have vandalism or theft, it impacts upon our school budget which means less resourcing for the things that add to your child’s educational experience.

Obviously, MOSHC will be operational during the holiday period.

We look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Tuesday 7 October for Term 4 and the next big event- Fair on The Green!

Kind regards,
Paul Zernike
Principal
pzern1@eq.edu.au

Happy Holidays

School holidays can provide benefits like physical and mental rest and recovery and fostering creativity. They also promote crucial social skills like cooperation and communication through play and new experiences and encourage independence and self-reliance in children. Additionally, holidays offer opportunities for exploring new environments, building life skills, and strengthening relationships.

Enjoy all these potential benefits and have fun!

See you in Term 4

Year 3

Backstory of “CRUSH”

Every week on Thursday we do think outside the box. This is when Mrs Bidwell, our teacher, draws half a drawing and we have to change into something it’s not supposed to be. This time she drew a car and we turned it into an ice-cream and an in-love-giraffe. We wrote a short story about them. With me, Alice, writing part 1 and Lucy writing part 2, we wrote “CRUSH”. 

We then presented to the class and were chosen to share our story with Mrs Heinrich and she asked if we wanted our story in the newsletter. Of course, we said ‘yes’, and now our story is in the newsletter, what more could we ask for?

CRUSH. . . 

(Alice)

And there she was, the love of his life. He ran to get a scoop of soft strawberry sorbet, for her of course. With sweet summer dreams in his hands, he walked casually out of the shop. Excitement over came him and a walk turned into a skip and a skip turned into a run. Then his foot tripped on a clumpy object…

Suddenly, the swirly sphere flew from his hands and landed…

(Lucy)

SPLAT! Right on her face! He ran to an alleyway and cowered in the shadows, listening to the surprised screams of the people walking hurriedly on the brightly lit street. Sparkling salty tears ran down his face, thinking about what he had done. He wanted to apologise, but he just couldn’t bring himself to think that she would ever forgive him. Then a pair of glistening eyes peeked around the corner lighting up the dark space…

Kind Regards 
Anita Heinrich
Deputy Principal
ahein8@eq.edu.au

Year 4  and 1NH, 1D and 1M Art Show Term 3

A huge thank you to everyone who attended and supported our recent Art Show! It was a joy to see our school community come together to celebrate the creativity and talent of our students.

This term’s displays were inspired by a range of national and international artists, and it was incredible to see how students explored different styles, cultures, and techniques. From vibrant sculptures both small and big to thoughtful 2D works, each piece reflected deep learning and imagination.

Congratulations to all our young artists for their outstanding work.

Thank you,
Shannon Ravenscroft
Year 2 & Visual Arts Teacher
scrav0@eq.edu.au

Met North & Southeast Queensland Football Champions!

On Monday 1st September, our Senior A Girls competed in the Southeast Queensland Football Championships at Aspley SHS after progressing as Met North Regional Winners.

Our Senior Girls played two games over the day won both of their matches convincingly, 7-0 against Camp Hill SS (Met East) and 4-0 against Eatons Hill SS (Darling Downs), to reach the final of the SEQ Championships. Up against Stretton College from the South Coast region the girls put on an absolute master class of pressing football to dominate and win 4-2 to be crowned the SOUTHEAST QUEENSLAND SENIOR GIRLS CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The second year in a row for half of the team. The girls played amazing team football capped off with a hat trick to E. James and another goal to E. Gibbs. Congratulations to Coach McMahon for his efforts in guiding the girls to victory too. Another incredible achievement for Milton SS which again exemplifies our strong performances across the board in sport.

Met North Track & Field

On Tuesday 26th August & Wednesday 27th August, nine Milton SS students competed at QSAC in the Metropolitan North School Sport Track & Field Championships. Our very talented young athletes did us proud with brilliant effort and very strong results across the board. Congratulations team, you should all be very proud of how you performed at this high level of competition.

Congratulations to Madison of Year 4 and Talia of Year 6 who have both qualified for the Queensland State Championships in week two of term four. Madison and Talia both qualified in the High Jump. Unfortunately, due to a prior commitment Talia won’t be able to take up her place in the Met North Track & Field team. We wish Madison all the very best as she heads to Townsville to compete against the state’s best in the 10yo High Jump!

Thanks to Mr McMahon & Miss Marsh for their support and training our athletes in the lead up too. Go team Milton!

Results below:

1 Hudson, G – Male – Age 10
Boys 10 1500m                       5:21.32 (7th)
Boys 10 800m                         DNS    

2 Emily, G – Female – Age 12
Girls 12 1500m                        5:30.28 (7th)
Girls 12 800m                          2:38.76 (8th)

3 Madison, S – Female – Age 10
Girls 10 High Jump                  1.26m (1st)
*Qualified for the Met North team and will compete at the Queensland School Sport Track & Field Championships.

4 Isobel, S – Female – Age 10
Girls 10 100m                          15.52 (9th)
Girls 10 200m                          33.13 (17th)

5 Edwina, S – Female – Age 11
Girls 11 100m                          15.84 (14th)
Girls 11 800m                          2:42.61 (5th)
Girls 11 200m                          32.21 (17th)

6 Hugo, T – Male – Age 10
Boys 10 Shot Put                     7.67m (9th)
Boys 10 Discus            `           25.08m (3rd) *Shadow for MN team

7 Divya, R – Female – Age 11
Girls 11 Shot Put                     7.09m (12th)

8 Audrey, L – Female – Age 12
Girls 12 Long Jump                  3.56m (20th)

9 Talia, F – Female – Age 12
Girls 12 High Jump                  1.42m (4th)
*Qualified for the Met North team

Year 4 – 6 Interschool Gala Days Term 4

Starting in week one of Term 4 we have our first week of Interschool Sport Summer Gala Days. The students’ have selected a sport from one of the five choices. Flipperball (modified water polo), Touch football, T-Ball, AFL and T20 Cricket.

The three dates are Friday 10th October, Friday 17th October, and Friday 24th October with our wet weather day – Friday 31st October (if required). Students are required to be at school by 8:15am to board the buses and depart by 8.30am sharp.

Our coaches are as follows:

Miss Ross / Mrs Mather / Mrs Sheen – Girls Touch Football

Mr. Lundberg / Mr. Van Heer (Groundman) – Boys Touch Football

Miss Delaney / Mrs Sen – T-Ball & Baseball

Mr McMahon / Mrs Lazarus / Miss Silvia / Miss Marsh – AFL

Miss Marsh – T20 Cricket

Mr. Sayer / Mrs. Cooritz - Flippaball

If you would like to attend any of the days to show your support of the students, please see below for venues addresses. Draws will be sent out via email in the coming weeks.

AFL – O’Callaghan Park, 340 Zillmere Rd, Zillmere Eagles AFC, Zillmere

Touch Football Boys – Brothers Leagues Club, Gibson Park, Stafford.

Touch Football Girls – Shaw Park, Shaw Rd, Wooloowin.

Cricket – North’s Cricket Club, Shaw Road, Wooloowin.

Flipperball – TBC once draw is finalised – Milton School Pool & other school pools.

Baseball - Hendra All Stars, Bannister Park, 116 Gerler Rd, Hendra

Please ensure students in AFL (Full contact) have a mouthguard for the gala days as they’re compulsory.

Term 4 PE Swimming Lessons

Lessons are returning to PE in Term 4, starting first day back on Tuesday 7th October for our Year 2’s & Year 5’s.

A reminder to please have your child’s swimming gear ready to go first week back. Please make sure that all swimming gear, and school uniform is clearly labelled to avoid things getting misplaced and lost. If possible, names on the outside of caps in black print writing would be great for identification in the water during lessons for our swim coaches.

We look forward to welcoming Swim Academy coaches on board again to assist in the running of all our Prep – 6 PE swimming lessons.

A reminder that ALL students require swimmers, sun protective shirt, swim cap (compulsory - it is strongly encouraged this is not the same colour as the pool colour – light blue), own towel and goggles all clearly named. 

Prep parents, if you could please let your child’s teacher know if you can assist and come down to the pool for lessons and changing thereafter, that would be greatly appreciated.

As always, if your child cannot swim for any reason, please provide a written note or email to your child’s teacher before school on the day of their swimming lesson.

A timetable for swimming will be emailed soon with class specific times. Swimming days for each year level are as follows:

Monday – Prep & Year 1

Tuesday – Year 2 & Year 5

Wednesday – Year 3

Thursday – Year 4 & Year 6

Term 4 Swimming Carnivals Date Claim

Please see below our dates for the 2025 Milton SS Swimming Carnivals.

Monday 1st December

Prep
9am – 11am

Year 1
11:30am – 1:00pm

Tuesday 2nd December

Year 3 & 4 - Age 8/9/10 years Swimming Carnival
(*Including Year 5’s Age 10/Born 2015 & Year 3’s Age 8 years/Born 2017.)

NO Year 2 students Aged 8/Born 2017 on this day, they compete in their year 2 carnival ONLY)

Born 2017/8 years (*NO YEAR 2’s)
Born 2016/9 years
Born 2015/10 years (*Including Year 5’s Born 2015)
Milton Age Championship Races 9 years/Born 2016 & 10 years/Born 2015
9:00am – 3:00pm

Wednesday 3rd December

Year 2’s ONLY
11:30am – 1:00pm

Thursday 4th December

Year 5 & 6 - Age 11/12 years (*Including Year 5/Age 10/Born 2015 students for fun)

*Born 2015/10 years (*Year 5’s only - Age 10/Born 2015 for fun)
Born 2014/11 years
Born 2013/12 years
Milton Age Championship Races 11 years/Born 2014 & 12 years/Born 2013
9:00am – 1:00pm

*NOTE: Year 5 10 years / Born 2015 students will swim in two carnivals.

For points and their age championships races in their age specific carnival on Tuesday 2nd December and for fun on the date above, with the other Year 5 and 6 students on the Age 11/12 years carnival day.

Age Champion Results & Overall House Champions
2:30pm - Assembly area

Parents and families are welcome to attend. Please be aware there will be very limited seating around the pool deck for all carnivals.

Ultimate Athletics – before school program

We look forward to welcoming Little Athletics to Milton SS for a seven week before school program, 1 hour a week, starting on Thursday 23rd October.
Please see the below link to sign up if interested.
https://laq.sport80.com/public/widget/1

Thank you
Lachlan Sayer
HPE Teacher 
lsaye12@eq.edu.au

It's been a big term - we'd like to thank everyone for their participation & enthusiasm; we couldn't do many of the things we do without dedicated volunteers across our community!

Did you know...
The P&C is the proprietor of a number of key services utilised daily by families across MSS - MOSHC, Uniform Shop, Tuckshop! In addition, we run Swim Club, Fair on the Green and many social & fundraising initiatives.

We recently prepared a detailed overview for incoming prep families and thought it timely to share more broadly too - please see attached for further info.

Colour Run - Results & Thank you

On August 22, we held the rescheduled Colour Run and wow, what a day! Full of colour and excitement all around, and the weather turned it on. Huge thank you to April Thomas-Senescall and Teagan Williams for leading the charge, their 2nd year convening this event. We'd also like to thank the many parents who pitched in on the day with setup, spraying & colouring and to Groundsman Greg Eaton for his on-ground assistance and setup. 

The winners of all of our "top" prizes are as below:

• Top Fundraiser in the whole school (Razor Scooter) - Olen G, 3M
• Top Fundraisers in each year level (YoChi and Grill'd vouchers) - Prep: Noah A, Year 1: Lilly H, Year 2: Jahriah T,  Year 3: Olen G,  Year 4: Addison S, Year 5: Freya W, Year 6: Flynn M
• Top Fundraising Class (parents party & kids pizza party) - 2V
• Class with the most profiles registered (iceblock party) - 3B, with 24 profiles
• Top 10 Fundraisers (slime the teachers!) - Olen G, Jahriah T, Flynn M, Freya W, Addison S, Lilly H, Noah A, Miller H, Mischa W, Addison K

Excitingly, we have raised $32,000 for school - this is a phenomenal effort everyone! 

Beyond fundraising, with many students selecting a cause vs ordering a prize, we have also been able to donate 546 meals (OzHarvest), create 29 book tokens (The Smith Family), plant 17 corals & unlock 99 turtle tokens (Great Barrier Reef Foundation), plant 75 trees (Carbon Neutral) and provide 522 tokens to help end bullying (Dolly's Dream). Well done everyone.

For those who ordered prizes through the Australian Fundraising platform, these will be delivered to classrooms in Term 4.

Father's Day & Special Person's Extravaganza - Thank you

This year, we held a morning BBQ for the first time, together with the traditional stall for our kids - which also included custom tshirts in 2025! It was a resounding success with ticket sales exceeding expectations for the morning and the stall being busy and popular all day! Special thanks to all the Dads who were on the BBQ in the morning, to helpers with setup & tickets, and to Mr V and Ian Connor on the coffee machine! Thanks also to Steph Hau for her assistance with ordering, Julie Rowlinson for supporting across Qkr, Groundsman Greg Eaton for logistics, the admin team for help with signs, printing & more and Leah Beadman for event organisation.

The biggest shout out goes to Meagan Wakefield for overseeing all 3 projects and nailing it - thank you!

Full financial results will be shared in October, but needless to say we are positive they will be fantastic.

Fair on the Green - October 18

• Volunteer link - is now live, please get involved if you can; most asks are 1-2 hour shifts and really help make the day a success, including the lead up & pack down -  https://legacy.signup.zone/fair-on-the-green2025 (please note, if your child is performing when you're on your shift we will make sure you can duck off to see them!). 
• Ride bands are now on sale via Qkr - earlybird prices available until October 16 at 4pm
• BBQ burger sponsorships are available - only $250 and you can get your name on the menu!
• Bake sale boxes & bags  - can be picked up from the office & uniform shop in Term 4
• Donation requests are open - for poppers  (for the BBQ) and books, puzzles, games & plushies (for the 2nd hand stall). Drop off at MOSHC, Uniform shop or the Office during Term 4.
• Stage program - will be released shortly on the Fair website

Any questions, please reach out to Leah Beadman at faironthegreen@gmail.com

Containers for Change

Thanks to everyone who brought in containers on Friday 12 September - we have dropped them off to be counted & will report back on the $$ raised. We will look to continue to do this quarterly, with the funds shared between the P&C and the Sustainability Committee. As always, you can continue to collect at home and donate against our P&C member number at any time - member number C11484072

Next Meeting - October 28, 7pm

We have moved the October meeting to the 4th Tuesday of the month, in light of the Fair. As always, all are welcome and you can come in person to the library (The Hive) or via Teams. Snacks & drinks are provided and it's a great opportunity to learn, contribute & meet new people!

Thank you - enjoy the school holidays and see you in Term 4!

Thanks for your support, 
P&C Executive committee
Thomas, Leah, Emma, Sarah & Ian
pandc@miltonss.eq.edu.au

The Uniform Shop is open each Tuesday & Friday morning, 8.30am – 9.30am during school terms. 

If you can’t make it into the store, new items can be ordered online Via the Qkr App.

Your order is then delivered directly to your Child’s classroom, no pickup is required.

Pre-loved items cannot be ordered online, please visit the store to see what’s currently available.

Donations of Pre-Loved MSS Uniforms are always appreciated. Feel free to drop them directly to us when we are open or to the admin team during school hours.

Thank you,
Julie Rowlinson
Uniform Shop Convenor
Uniforms@miltonss.eq.edu.au