CELEBRATING STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES –

LEVELS OF ACHIEVEMENT

It is important that we focus on the development of the ‘whole child’ and a key aspect of this is their academic achievement. Below you will find the whole of school results from our report cards in semester one 2024 and 2025 for English & Mathematics, where we focus on the percentage of students who have achieved a C standard (this means they are at the expected level of achievement for their current year level) or above and those who achieved either an A or a B in the subjects indicated. At a very simplistic level, generally, around 15% of the population will be below average (below a C standard) in these two subjects for a variety or reasons which might include disability, learning difficulties etc. Therefore, if 85% of the population are on average achieving above a C standard, it is what might be expected as baseline. It also means that our students are largely achieving better than the general population.

We are very pleased with the outcomes during the first semester of 2025, as they relate to what has been taught and learned from the Australian Curriculum (see Teaching & Learning Overviews emailed to you in last week of term 2 for specific details).   

We are always striving to improve each year and lift students through challenging them just enough to keep them in ‘the learning zone’, but not discourage them from continuing their learning journey by making the work beyond their capability. There will be variation in the data across year levels as no two cohorts are the same in terms of capability, however for the larger part, there is continual and steady growth in student academic achievement. Variation in cohorts can be as simple as students coming and going from Milton.

For those students who may fall below the expected achievement level of a C standard, we work very hard with our school ACCESS team (student support for intervention and extension) and the class teacher along with you as parents, our own support staff and any external professional guidance that you might engage, to continue the developmental growth of such students. For some students it will be a case of ‘not quite being there…yet’.

We must keep at the forefront of our minds that not every child (or adult) will achieve an A standard in every subject. We all have our strengths and challenges and are uniquely individual.

The evidence below only forms one part of the story for our students. Individually we see growth at varying rates developmentally for all students. There are many factors which can influence their results, and it is always our goal to take a student from where they’re at in their learning and help them progress further. We want to see them grow to reach their potential over the course of the 7 years they attend our school. Our focus is always about who we want them to be and what they have achieved, upon exiting Milton. Are they embodying the ‘6C’s (Global Competencies) in their life and in their learning- Character, Citizenship, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity and Critical Thinking. These are the skills that will serve them well as they become productive members of our global society.

DONATION TO THE SCHOOL- NEW SCHOOL SIGN

A wonderful opportunity has been presented to us from Thomas and Rhiannon Coussens from Place Real Estate (also parents in our school and sponsors of book prize each term).

If you list your home for sale with them and it obviously is sold by them, Thomas and Rhiannon will donate their entire commission from the sale to our school, with the view that it will go towards us being able to fund a new electronic sign on Haig Rd.

This is a most generous offer to the school community and if you are considering selling your home, then Thomas and Rhiannon would be pleased to assist. Just contact them on 0426 455 435.

P&C FUNDING- MID YEAR UPDATE

As we are now just past the halfway point in the school year, I wanted to give an update on how the school has progressed with expending the generous funding from the P&C Association.

Each year the P&C provide $100 000 to the school for various initiatives. This year an additional $50 000 was provided to undertake some upgrades to play areas including seating, murals and equipment.

The staff and students are so very appreciative of the fundraising efforts of the P&C and wider school community so that many additional resources and infrastructure can be purchased.

Below are some photos of the P&C funded upgrades and additions, with more to be done up to the end of this year.

There is also provision for additional teacher aide time and part funding for our Art Teacher, Shannon Ravenscroft, who will work with every class for one term over the course of the school year.  If you have had a child already work with Shannon, you will have been invited along with the rest of the school to come and view their work at the Art Show she creates at the end of every term. Absolutely amazing work!

WHERE WILL WE BE IN 2030- IT’S NOT THAT FAR AWAY!

If I could predict the future, I would be a very popular and rich man! There is no certainty about where the future will take us and in particular the lives of our children. It seems like a long way off, but trust me, having two of my own children now 26 & 28 years, it flew by very quickly.

The research below aligns very much with work we are doing across our school with ‘Deep Learning’ as it relates to the 6 C’s- Creativity, Communication, Character, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Citizenship. These are the ‘key drivers’ for how we approach teaching and learning and are well aligned to what the future needs in private enterprise will be and are demanding.

 I have learned of some very interesting statistics that are generated by private enterprise in terms of the skills and abilities they are most concerned about for the future workforce and society. The focus will increase on an increase in dealing with people, problem solving and creative thinking with a reduction in manual tasks. Their skills need to be portable and transferable.

No longer will it be one job for an entire career, more likely it will be some 17 jobs across five different industries over a person’s working life.

The statistics show that the future of work life will be-

100% more time spent solving problems

30% more time learning on the job.

26% more time engaging in self-directed work.

Employer needs have shown an increase by percentage in the following-

Digital Literacy- 212%- this relates to the ability of their employees to interface with digital technology and use it in the most efficient and effective ways for the specific role they undertake in the workplace.

Bi-lingual- 181%- this relates to not just the ability to speak another language, but even more so to negotiate their way through a global society where the understanding of how to interact with other cultures within Australia and beyond is critical. It’s about being able to engage in diverse environments and contexts.

Critical Thinking- 158%- this relates to employees being able to have really well-developed problem solving and teamwork skills.

Creativity- 65%- this relates to employees being able to speak and communicate with others, in the workplace and with those whom they service as clients.

Employers are increasingly turning their focus to skills not scores. What may have once been viewed as ‘soft skills and capabilities’ are now equally weighted with university scores or other forms of external study. There is a clear shift from purely content led to capability/competency driven.

So, what does this really mean for the future of schooling and education in general? If we look to the Gonski Review, there are some key recommendations which align with how we need to be shifting our focus within schools and it should not be new news to our school community, as these are aspects I have spoken about and worked towards enacting for some time now.

Central to the report’s findings and subsequent recommendations is an acknowledgement of several key considerations:

1. the need to change the 19th century “industrial” education model
2. a refocusing on meaningful teacher-led assessment is required, rather than point-in-time tests such as NAPLAN
3. there should be a place for students in designing and leading the learning process

The review focuses on three priority areas and contains 23 recommendations

The three priority areas are to:

1.    deliver at least one-year’s growth in learning for every student, every year
2.    equip every child to be a creative, connected and engaged learner
3.    cultivate an adaptive, innovative and continuously improving education system.

To achieve these priorities, the report recommends that the following are necessary.

1.    Laying foundations for early learning by: promoting high-quality early learning and transition to schools; engaging parents and carers as partners in learning; and ensuring students can be partners in their own learning.
2.    Equipping every student to grow and succeed in a changing world by: introducing new reporting regimes; revising the Australian Curriculum; prioritising the acquisition of foundation skills in literacy and numeracy in the early years; enhancing the acquisition of critical and creative thinking and personal and social capability; strengthening community engagement.
3. Creating, supporting and valuing a profession of expert educators through: providing more professional collaboration, observation, feedback and mentoring; developing an online and on-demand student learning tool for formative assessment and tailored teaching; providing high quality professional learning experiences; developing a national teacher workforce strategy; implementing effective induction programs; creating meaningful career pathways which keep excellent teachers teaching.

In so many ways, we as a school are committed to ensuring we are already moving these priorities forward through our School Strategic Plan. I am heartened to see so much of what is contained in the Gonski Report is already underway within our school. We have always been at the forefront of educational excellence and will continue to push the boundaries in how we approach the education of your children.

SCHOOL OPINION SURVEY

The annual School Opinion Survey has been sent to your email address as of Monday this week.

The key dates for completion are below-

KEY DATES

21 July – 25 July   Invitations emailed to Parents / Caregivers, Students and Staff

28 July                   SOS 2025 - Survey period opens

22 August              SOS 2025 - Survey period closes

We will be sending out some supporting information to you next Monday 28 July.

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

NCCD

The Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) is a yearly count of students by all Australian schools across the country. The aim of the NCCD is to provide the Australian Government with information about the number of students with disability in Australian schools and the type of adjustments they need in order to access and participate in education on the same basis as other students.

If you are a parent, guardian or carer of a child with disability who requires ongoing adjustments at school, a teacher or another school staff member will consult with you to understand your child’s needs. This collaborative approach ensures the most appropriate adjustments are chosen to support your child’s learning and participation at school. In some cases, an individual education plan (IEP) or personal learning plan (PLP) may be developed to document specific educational goals and to review your child’s progress over time.

Your child will be included in the NCCD if they require ongoing adjustments at school due to a disability as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992  (the DDA). This is a very broad definition of disability, which includes physical and intellectual disabilities, learning disorders such as dyslexia and dysgraphia, and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.

The Disability Standards for Education 2005 (the Standards) set out the obligations of schools towards students with disability. Information for parents, guardians and carers on the DDA and the Standards about how schools can work with students and their families is available at Disability Standards for Education: A practical guide for individuals, families and communities.

For further information use the link below and/or click for the attachment for the parent/ carers fact sheet.

https://www.nccd.edu.au/for-parents-guardians-and-carers

MINI FESTIVALS

The City Collective Mini-Festivals cater for highly capable students in Year 3 and 4 who have achieved excellent academic results or demonstrated an aptitude in a particular area.

The City Collective Schools include: Ascot SS, Brisbane Central SS, Eagle Junction SS, Hamilton SS, Hendra SS, Kelvin Grove SC, Queensland Children’s Hospital School, Milton SS, New Farm SS, Newmarket SS, Petrie Terrace SS, West End SS, Wilston SS, Windsor SS and Wooloowin SS.

The festivals aim to provide opportunities for students to work with like-minded students across the City Collective to provide enrichment and extension opportunities in their strength area.

Congratulations to the following students for each of the Mini festivals.

Mini-Writers - Milton State School.

This year MSS is hosting the Writer’s Festival. Congratulations:

Mini-Writers - Milton State School.

This year MSS is hosting the Writer’s Festival. Congratulations:

Toby M - 3W

Evie L - 4SC

Alice R - 3M

Alice R - 3AL

Pen & Possibility: Students will work with authors alongside teachers to learn the craft of creative writing. This is a unique opportunity for young students who show exceptional talent in writing.

Mini-Coders - New Farm State School

Retro Coders: Students will use MakeCode Arcade to apply coding skills to each step of the design process to make their very own retro video game. In the process of building their computational thinking knowledge, participants will ideate, prototype and test their human-centric game designs. Congratulations:

Ash J - 4L

Max C - 4SC

Hugh F - 3B

Cruz P - 3W

Mini-Mathematicians - Hamilton State School

Advanced Mathematical Thinking: Developing problem solving and reasoning using an inquiry model. Children use an inquiry model to help guide them in developing deeper understanding of key mathematical concepts. Congratulations:

Tusanda C - 4ML

Ashton R - 4L

Henry M - 4S

Owen M - 3M

Mini-Media Artists - West End State School

Telling True Stories: Students will explore how moving-image media languages and technologies are used to tell stories that engage audiences. They will collaborate to design and produce a documentary that tells a story about a social issue. Congratulations:

Isla L - 3B

Catherine M - 3W

Lucas V - 4L

Wil B - 3W

Mini-Scientists - Brisbane Urban Environment Education Centre, Newmarket State School

Polymer Playtime: Students will extend their knowledge to look at polymers at the molecular level. They will engage in a guided exploration of crystalline and amorphous polymers and how their molecular structure influences their use. They will deepen their understanding of polymers as they plan, conduct and refine scientific experiments to make the bounciest polymer ball. Congratulations:

Raf C - 4SC

Henry H - 4ML

Maryam S - 4ML

Thomas P - 4ML

Mini-Design Thinkers - Ascot State School

TinkerThink: Build a Better World: Students will be introduced to the process of design inquiry and design principles to collaboratively explore the United Nations Sustainability Development goals (SDG’s). Students will use 3D printing software and Co-spaces, a virtual reality environment, to develop their solutions to problems or challenges. Congratulations:

Abby B - 4S

Adam B - 4S

Living Stories - Petrie Terrace State School

Living Stories is a new initiative in 2025. The Department of Education (DoE) are supporting this new program for its first year of implementation. Congratulations:

Heather H - 4SC

Cleo M - 4S

Teddy W - 3AL

William B - 3M

Living Stories: Students connect with the rich heritage of First Nations peoples through storytelling and visual arts. The students will collaborate with a First Nation’s artist and cultural leader and explore the profound role of storytelling in First Nations cultures —learning how oral traditions, symbols, and art forms have preserved cultures, histories, values, and identities for centuries whilst connecting to and expressing their own stories.

Some action shots of Mini Festival Writing hosted at Milton SS and led by our very own Miss Liz. Four days of creative inspiration and working with Author Cameron Stelzer. Australian author and illustrator Dr Cameron Stelzer has written and illustrated thirty-six books for children, including the Scallywags, Pie Rats and Stroogle series. ...What a wonderful opportunity for our students and across our City Collective. These snaps demonstrate a range of opportunities to share, publicly speak, collaboration, flexible working arrangements, Teacher and author support, Shared editing and brainstorming and much more.

ICAS 2025 Reminders:

ICAS is now closed for registration and payment. See emails and previous newsletters for dates

•             The competitions are held before school in A block – Year 6 classrooms.

•             Arrival to school is 7:40 sharp.

•             Do not arrive early at the classroom or wait earlier in the hallways.

•             If you miss a competition they are not made up, you can contact ICAS for a refund.

•             Students require their iPads, fully charged.

•             Writing and Spelling Bee require a lock down browser – see link to install

       https://www.icasassessments.com/support-locked-down-browser/

INFORMATION FROM OUR SOCIAL WORKER FOR  SEPARATED PARENTS

Centacare and the Brisbane Family Relationship Centre are preparing to offer a group program for children of separated parents, which will provide a secure environment to enhance emotional literacy through creative therapy, as well as opportunities for interaction with peers in similar circumstances – referred to as OWL KIDS.

The program is a practical, child-centred art and leisure therapy group that enables children to express themselves creatively through art, drama, and metaphors.

It is designed for children aged 7 to 12 years who are navigating the challenges of separation; those who have been informed or will soon be informed of their parents' separation; or those who have been affected by parental conflict.

Children will have the chance to:

• Explore grief and loss related to family separation
• Identify safe coping strategies for their own self-care
• Process their experiences of living in two households
• Distinguish between child and adult responsibilities and recognize the rights of being a child
• Celebrate their learning and progress throughout the program.

Dates for the upcoming (School Holiday) program:

Monday, 29 September 2025 – Wednesday, 1 October 2025 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

Cost: Free

Address: Brisbane Family Relationship Centre 58 Morgan Street, Fortitude Valley

Important:

A session for parents will occur concurrently with the first group session. This session aims to help parents understand the objectives of Owl Kids, what their children may share at home, and how each parent can provide support.

An alternative session will allow the other parent to attend at a different time during the same week.

The concluding session will be a presentation for parents to attend separately, highlighting the children's progress and work throughout the program.

Before children can enrol in the program, written parental consent is required. More information attached.

Spotlight – Year 6

In Term 2, Year 6 students explored creating adaptations of a familiar narrative including prequels, sequels and changing main events. Based on Remy Lai's "Pie in the Sky", students wrote their adaptations using specific vocabulary choices to not only match the author's style, but to suit their audience- primary school students. Here are a few snippets of their amazing work!  - Excerpts from final pieces

By Audrey L  6CH

‘Why did I say that, why did I say that?!’ I think to myself. While I’m contemplating on life’s choices Yanghao prances into the room in the tuxedo he wore to aunties wedding. Papa turns and his expression turns to Yanghao, and he laughs. “Yanghao you can’t wear that.” I say to him. “Booger” he says his comebacks aren’t great. I wouldn’t even wear that, and I am 11. He looks at me slyly and then quickly turns back to dance in the kitchen. Hopefully, that takes my mind off what I just said. I wish I could say sorry to him at brunch. On the way there, I turn to Papa, and I try to say something, but my seashells are too heavy to give to him. I couldn’t tell him about how kids bully me and call me “smell like cake.” I just couldn’t. We arrive at the restaurant, and I order the sweet milk tea and a muffin. This place is beautiful, no scratches, no paint peeling and the kitchen is amazing. The envy eats my skin. When the food comes, Yanghao at once goes to town. As I slowly take a sip of my Chinese sweet milk tea, I try to make conversation by asking “what is the news you wanted to tell us about, Mama?” Mama looks up from her plate and announces confidently “boys, next month we are moving to Australia!” I drop my fork, but Yanghao keeps chomping on his food. “I don’t want to move” I announce loudly. I still have things I want to do here, friends I have, and I stare at my plate for the rest of breakfast.

By Simran G 6CH

A few days later we are getting in the car. The dreaded day has arrived. Papa’s funeral. I asked mama if I had to go. She said yes. I asked why and she said because papa is family and we all love him. The only reason I don’t want to go is because I do not want to have to even think about papa not being here, especially because I know that it is my fault. As we drive along the old bumpy and rough asphalt I spot an ambulance and policemen. It reminds me of papa. My nose stings. That’s what happens when I think of papa. A part of me stings as if I am about to cry. But I always keep it in, no matter what. Finally, we arrive at the huge beaming temple. It is made out of big orangey-red bricks and has statues of God. “Why don’t you boys get as much stuff as you can out of the boot”. Says mama as she walks off with someone who is probably helping organize the funeral. While everyone is setting up I hide in the car not ever wanting to come out. Then I see something out of the corner of my eye. I turn to look and let out a silent gasp. It’s papas’ coffin. I jump out of the car and run to mama. As soon as the funeral starts my nose stings. Then my eyes, after that my cheekbones, until finally my whole body is on fire. After the coffin has been walked down the aisle. Mama, Ah-gong, Ah-po and a few of my aunties and uncles get up to say a eulogy. When the funeral is over and we go home mama gives us leftover slice of raspberry torte. I do not eat any but the cake reminds me. My birthday is in five days. But I do not know if I want to have a party anymore.

Elsie J 6M 

My house keys jangle as I lock the apartment door behind us. Yanghao says to me with a fat grin on his plump face,

"Jingwen, do you know what time it is?"

I sigh with my head of messy black hair in my hand. "It's-"

Yanghao interrupts me; "...CAKE TIME!" he shouts with glee and darts down the spiral carpeted stairs.

"Wait!"

Yanghao is a real booger.

I eventually catch up with him and we're walking along the busy main road- well, I'm walking, Yanghao is skipping along, swinging around bus stop poles like a boy ballerina. I can hear annoying noisy honks and horns and the tall and short buildings surrounding us, but most of all, I can smell cake. I can see Mama through the Barker's Bakery glass. Me and Yanghao stealthily sneak across without Mama seeing us. I stop and look back towards her. She has a soft face and short black hair. I feel guilty for a second; I wonder if Mama would want me to do this behind her back, but I turn around and keep walking. We walk through the automatic doors and Yanghao spots the baking aisle.

I've got all the ingredients except flour so I'm scouring through the tall shelves like a bin chicken looking for food. Ben told me a bin chicken is a bird that eats rubbish, and Martian, Martian, Martian. I didn't understand that last bit. Aha, flour. I get on my tiptoes and grab it. I call out Yanghao's name to tell him we're leaving. He doesn't reply. When I turn around, my chest heaves. Yanghao's gone.

I drop the bright red shopping basket and the ingredients spill and clatter onto the clean, tiled floor and race down the narrow aisle. I check everywhere, but Yanghao isn't there.

My heart is beating out of my chest. What will Mama think of me when she finds out I lost him. Tears like drops of rain start to form in my small, hazel eyes. I hurry back to the baking aisle with my head hung. I pick up the newly dirty, wrecked shopping basket. I look into the vanilla sprinkle cake disaster and a light bulb flickers in my mind. There's about $15 missing from the cake money. That little rascal.

Felix P 6D

“When Yanghao and I arrive home that afternoon, instead of everyone in the kitchen, mama, ah-po, ah-gong, and a policeman are sitting around the kitchen table. “Where’s papa” I begin to say as I walk through the door. “My lovely, my lovely, lovely children” mama says as she gives us the tightest hug ever. He eyes are red and she’s sniffing. “Your papa got into a car crash coming home from the cake shop.”. After mama said that one sentence, I knew life would never be the same.

Yanghao burst into tears and started to scream “IT ISN’T TRUE! PAPA WOULDN’T LEAVE US!”. I just stood there taking it all in. Papa had been the heart of the family, when we went to the beach and it rained, he said it was ok and said we would go next week. When I had a hard day at school, he said it was ok and took me to get ice cream. I didn’t feel the same, like a piece of my heart that I thought would be there forever, was gone. Just like that all the happy memories we had, were washed away like waves on the sand.”

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

NAIDOC 2025 NEWS

NAIDOC stands for National and Islanders Day Observance Committee and every year in July, we celebrate this important event at Milton State School.

The students came to Assembly in Free Dress which is always a highlight.  They all looked amazing!  One of our students, Maddie in Year 1NH made her dress up the day before.  Here’s Maddie in her outfit.

Our 2024 First Nation Captain, Brida-Lee Donavon Tass and her Mum, Mtia were our special guests.  Brida-Lee designed our Indigenous Polos last year and helped Mr Zernike launch the new Staff Polos.  What an achievement for our school!  Also many thanks to Julie in the Uniform Shop for organising this. 

Here’s what the Staff Polos will look like.

Then we showed a video explaining this year’s theme – The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy.  It was an interesting and relevant theme as it relates to our students being the Next Generation.  For your viewing, here’s the link - https://share.google/RNxF1XoIkzAdfOItK

The winners of the NAIDOC Bookmark Competition were announced and presented with their prizes –

Prep

1st – Zoe T (Prep D)

2nd – Elliot G (Prep D)

3rd – P A (Prep M)

Year 1

1st – Claire (1M)

2nd – Primrose H (1D)

3rd – Lily W (1D)

Year 2

1st – Quinn (2HR)

2nd – Felix (2V)

3rd – Maya K (2A)

Year 3

1st – Samuel (3AL)

2nd – Grace H (3B)

3rd – Alice (3M)

Year 4

^1st – Sophia S (4ML)

2nd – Lucas V (4L)

3rd – Eesha (4S)

Year 5

1st – Sebastian R (5R)

2nd – Liam J (5R)

3rd – Dia Bershia (5R)

Year 6

1st – Imogen (6M)

2nd – Emily G (6M)

3rd – Kaito (6CH).

Congratulations!  A display of the Winners and their Bookmarks can be seen in A Block outside Mrs Jarro’s old room.

And finally, Mr Zernike’s closing remarks ….

“NAIDOC Week wraps up for this year but respect, learning, reconciliation and celebration for First Nations culture should be extended to every week of the calendar year.  I’m proud to say that’s exactly what we are doing here at Milton.  Well done Milton!”

Happy NAIDOC 2025! 

Kind Regards

Ngaire Jarro | Senior Teacher

njarr4@eq.edu.au

Semester 2 Representatives

In Week 1 of Term 3, classes voted to elect their new Semester 2 Student Council representatives. Congratulations to all the newly elected representatives! We also extend our sincere thanks to the Semester 1 representatives for their fantastic efforts and support throughout the term.

Crazy Sock Day Success
Thank you to everyone who participated in our recent Crazy Sock Day! Together, we raised $500 for the Starlight Children’s Foundation. A special thanks to the P&C for their generous contributions through the MadMia Sock Drive, which helped make this event even more successful.

Upcoming Disco – Friday 8 August
The Student Council is excited to host this year’s Disco to raise funds for the Literacy Foundation for Children, supporting kids with learning disabilities such as dyslexia. The theme is Country and Western, so dust off your jeans, checked shirts, and riding boots!

Disco Times:

• Prep: 3:45pm – 4:45pm
• Years 1 & 2: 5:00pm – 6:00pm
• Years 3 & 4: 6:15pm – 7:15pm
• Years 5 & 6: 7:30pm – 8:30pm

Cost: $7.00 (cash only)
Please send payment in a named envelope or snap lock bag to your child’s classroom teacher any day before the event. Payment cannot be made through QParents, but permission to attend must be submitted via QParents.

For more information, refer to the email sent by Paul Zernike on Friday 18 July.

2024 Disco Fundraiser – Our Rainbow House Zambia
As part of our 2024 Disco fundraising efforts, we are pleased to announce a visit from student Henry, and teacher Mary from Our Rainbow House School in Zambia. They will be presenting to several classes and Student Council representatives, sharing insights about their school. We look forward to welcoming them to the school on Monday 11^th of August.

City District Track & Field

This coming Thursday 24th July and Friday 25th July at Windsor Park in Windsor, 50 students will form the Milton State School Track & Field Athletics Team to compete against schools within our own City District School Sport region. Competing in the A division of schools we are hoping we can bring home the silverware!

Our athletes, aged between 9-12yo, will compete across a range of track and field disciplines including the 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m and 4x100m relays in track and on the field, we will have students competing in shot put, long jump and high jump. Students that qualify through in the 10yo – 12yo age groups will then compete at the Met North School Sport Athletics on Tuesday 26th and Wednesday 27th August at QSAC, Nathan.

We wish our team the very best of luck and am sure they will represent the school with great determination, sportsmanship and pride. Go Milton SS!

Met North School Sport & South East Queensland Football (Soccer) Championships

Last term during our winter gala day competitions, two of our football teams qualified for the next stage. After very successful results our Senior A Girls and Junior A Boys football teams from Winter Gala Day sport competition, coached by Mr McMahon & Mr Lundberg, took part in the Met North Football Championships at Aspley SHS on Monday 21st July. This competition is against the best state school teams from the other four districts within Met North. From this tournament, the winner progresses to the South East Queensland Football Championships on Monday 18th August! The aim here is to be crowned the best state school football team in all of Southeast Queensland.

Our Senior Girls, playing two qualifiers on the day, won both of their matches against Eatons Hill SS and Patricks Road SS. Putting lots of pressure and shots on Eatons Hill goal, the Senior Girls won their first encounter 5-1. A dominant display. In the second match, a much more even contest, Milton played Patricks Road SS and won the match 2-0. With strong team defence and high work rate from the girls, whilst pressured, they were able to withstand the challenge, keep a clean sheet and win overall. Excitingly, I believe this means our girls will now progress to the Southeast Queensland Football Championships on Monday 18th August, in a chance to win the title of the best Senior Girls team in all of South East Queensland again. Well done to the girls and coach Mr McMahon.

The Junior Boys unfortunately had a different day, progressing to the final by way of forfeit before losing their only match, the final, to Mango Hill SS 4-0. With a strong opposition full of talent, our boys tried their best and gave it their all but, in the end, just weren’t as good as their opposition. We are still very proud of you all boys and your wonderful coach Mr Lundberg. These higher levels of competition are always wonderful opportunities to challenge yourselves against the best and learn. Hold your heads high, you are still champions in our eyes.

Cricket Blast & AusKick/Superkick @ Milton SS

During this term for PE lessons, we have, and will welcome the AFLQ staff and Qld Cricket staff who are giving the kids Auskick and Cricket Blast promotional lessons as part of the upcoming after school Auskick & Cricket Blast programs.

The programs run for 4 weeks (Cricket Blast) and 6 weeks (Auskick) and for those that sign up, kids receive their own gear packs and equipment, including the sessions with qualified coaches. If you would like to further information, or to sign up, please see the flyers in the community notices section of the newsletter.

The programs are starting on Tuesday’s 29th July (Auskick/Superkick) and Wednesday’s 20th August (Cricket Blast).

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

Next P&C meeting - Tuesday 19 August, 7pm

All welcome! The meeting will be held in The Hive (library) and also online via Teams, with a link to be sent out closer to the date.

P&C meetings are a great opportunity to keep up to date with happenings and be part of conversation that shapes fundraising and initiatives for our children.

As an association, we must hold meetings as part of the constitution and whilst they are quite formal…we provide beer, wine & snacks! We would love to see some more MSS community faces in attendance! 

Wrap up - Mad Mia Sock Drive

Thanks again to everyone who took part in this in Term 2.

Huge shoutout to Ivana Lowrey for leading the charge, with support from Leah Beadman & Julie Rowlinson.

In fabulous news, we made $3600 for the P&C fund, and contributed $289 towards the Student Council's fundraising for the Starlight Foundation through this initiative.

Trivia - August 2 - ON SALE NOW!

A reminder to jump online to buy your tickets - sales will close Wed 30th July, so get in quick, it's going to be an awesome night! Buy tickets here - 

https://events.humanitix.com/mss-trivia-2025

We know it's the event you guys wanted after our survey, so please jump online and get involved - you’re buying a ticket to a fun night, full of food & drinks, prizes and a DJ, and you’re helping fundraise for your kids. Win-win-win!!

In exciting news, we are also launching our RAFFLE - one of our biggest yet, we have almost $6,000 worth of prizes to be won! We are incredibly thankful for the support of all the businesses who have provided some amazing prizes ?

Buy tickets here on Raffletix now!!

The raffle is open to all Qld residents aged 18+, so you can buy tickets whether you're attending trivia or not, and share the link with family & friends - this is a super easy way to support our P&C fundraising efforts for our kids!

Monty's Colour & Slime Fun Run - August 22

After postponing the event in March due to ex-cyclone Alfred, this eagerly anticipated and super fun event is back! If you've not yet signed your child/ren up, it's not too late - head to myprofilepage.com.au and start fundraising. You can choose to support causes or redeem prizes, and we will also have some amazing prizes up for grabs for top fundraisers, not to mention the chance to slime some of the teachers at school!

If you have already signed up and have fundraising under way, fantastic - you can get back into Colour & Slime Fun Run fundraising mode now!

The detailed schedule will be confirmed in the coming weeks - the event will take place after lunch, so mark it in your calendar if you want to come & witness some messy joy! 

Fair on the Green - October 18

We're just under 3 months away from our biggest event of the year - stay tuned for updates and make sure your calendar is marked! 

We do also still have a few sponsorship opportunities available - please reach out if you're interested or know someone who might be! Sponsors are very important to the success of our day :-)

Containers for Change ♻️ 

The drive we did in June to enable us to enter the competition was a huge success, with more than 1700 containers returned - amazing effort by all.

A reminder that you can donate your containers from home (as can friends & family!) at any time, using our member number!

Salud! - discount for MSS families

Salud, a new local cafe & bar on Haig Rd would like to offer a standing "Amigos of Salud" discount to MSS families! Vince and the team welcome you to come in and you’ll get 10% off the total bill (including catering) - just say you’re from MSS when you head in. 

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 

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

Please join us after school to construct paper flower lanterns that will be used to decorate the stage for this year's Milton State School Fair on the Green. The workshop includes two sessions total, held over consecutive Friday afternoons from 3-4:30pm in the C Block Mezzanine, the area at the top of the amphitheater in the Junior Learning Centre. Paper lanterns will be returned to all participants classrooms the week following the Fair.

Workshop Dates (must attend both days):
Friday 15 August 3-4:30pm, C-block Mezzanine, Milton State School
Friday 22 August 3-4:30pm, C-block Mezzanine, Milton State School

This workshop is suitable for all primary school age children, with modifications for younger and older students.  These sessions are limited to 10 students.

All proceeds (less consumables) will go towards the Grade 6 Graduation Fund.

Sessions will be run by Milton mum, Carrie Radzevicius, who operates after school art classes out of her home in Bardon.

For more information and to book in please visit https://www.carrieradzevicius.com/store/p1/paperflowersMSS.html.

Diane Sneddon (neé Ratcliffe) is organising a get together for all past pupils who graduated from MSS Grade 7 in 1967 . 

Some students started Grade 1 in 1961, while others enrolled at Milton in later years. 

For details contact Diane for more details .. phone 0437 025020 or email dianesneddon1955@gmail.com 

Keep the date free -  Monday, September 15th. Spouses/partners are also welcome. 

Diane can provide details of the event and tour of the school.