Milton State School eNewsletter

Milton State School – Administration team	admin@miltonss.eq.edu.au
MOSHC - Coordinator - Gareth Donnelly	admin@moshc.net
Tuckshop - Coordinator - Stephanie Hau	tuckshop@miltonss.eq.edu.au
Milton Marlins Swim Club	SwimmingClub@miltonss.eq.edu.au
Uniform Shop – Julie Rowlinson Tue & Fri 8.30am - 9.30am	uniforms@miltonss.eq.edu.au
P & C President – Thomas Rice P & C Vice President - Leah Beadman & Emma Watt P & C Secretary - Ian Connor P & C Treasurer - Sarah Bassett	pandc@miltonss.eq.edu.au

Sync Calendar

NAPLAN RESULTS 2025

Whilst we always need to recognise that NAPLAN testing is a ‘point in time’ capture of a student’s ability in English & Mathematics and not every child performs well in a test situation, it is also important to celebrate and analyse the results so we can continue to improve student learning outcomes.

Of course, as I will always state, learning and education is so much more than a single ‘point in time’ test which only occurs twice in a child’s primary schooling and we will never engage in the practice of ‘teaching to the test’.

Below you will find some results from the Year 3 & 5 NAPLAN testing 2025 in each of the strands.

The proficiency levels indicate where our students scored across the 4-point scale (Requires Support, Developing, Strong & Exceeding)

In almost every strand, we are achieving higher than the Nation, State & Met North Region when the top two levels (strong & exceeding) are combined as a percentage %

NB- Met North Region has the highest NAPLAN results of any region within our state

If we look at the levels of achievement (A-E) results from report cards in Semester One 2025 of all students in year 3 & 5, there is alignment or agreement between how our students scored on NAPLAN and their report card results in English & Maths.

I also want to celebrate that on the mean scale score in all strands of NAPLAN (with the exception of Year 5 Spelling) we scored higher than the Nation, State and Met North Region as a school and have increased our performance against the state and region from 2024.

These are outstanding results given we have a greater percentage of students who have English as a Second Language and Students with a Disability, than schools of a similar size in surrounding suburbs.

CONGRATULATIONS- STATE TOUCH CHAMPIONSHIPS

Whilst I was on long service leave last Friday, I was fortunate enough to be in Roma at the same time as the Under 12 State Touch Football Championships were being held.

Eddie Sexton was representing Met North Region at the championships, and I managed to get along to see her play a game on the day.

The team did well, finishing in 8th place overall and Eddie played an excellent game.

We even got to have a photo together.

Year 5 & 6 Debating

Congratulations to our year 5 and 6 Debating teams on an outstanding first debate. Your dedication, preparation and team work was outstanding. Whilst we narrowly missed out on a win in the first round, each team displayed thoughtful and passionate speeches. It was impressive to hear one adjudicator commenting on this being the highest quality debate they had seen.

Congratulations Charlotte, Tilly, Sebastian, Florence, George, Max, Beatrix, Emily and Edith.

PARENT OPINION SURVEY

Thanks to the many parents who have completed the survey already.

The survey period closes today, Friday 22 August.

A few parents have contacted me indicating they did not receive the parent school opinion survey link.

Please note that it will be one per family so it may well be in either parent’s email in box or may have gone to junk email.

If you absolutely cannot find it, you can go to the link below which I have just been provided-

https://survey2.qed.qld.gov.au/form/SOS2025Parent

To access the survey, parents/caregivers need to enter the EQID of their eldest child at the school. EQIDs are validated to ensure that there is only one response per family. Please note that responses with an invalid EQID are not accepted during processing.

If you do not know your child’s EQID number, please send an email to Bec in reception who can provide it to you - remme13@eq.edu.au

STUDENT LED CONFERENCES

Coming up towards the end of this term, you and your child will be involved in a Student Led Conference (SLC) with your child’s teacher.

This is an opportunity for your child to share with you as a parent/carer, their learning progress over the year and goals for the remainder of the year.

This is not a Parent Teacher Interview.

Please take this opportunity when presented, to join in celebration of your child’s progress.

Class teachers will ask you to register in the same way you do for Parent Teacher Interviews.

RESPECTFUL, SAFE & RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOURS

Being Respectful, Safe & Responsible are the three core values and behaviours that we are working hard to instil in the students at Milton. You will see this as a part of our Code of Behaviour in our School Charter on signage around the school, indicating that this is what we expect students, parents, teachers and guests to abide by within our school grounds.

It is wonderful to be out and about around the school in the playground, in classrooms and greeting families as they enter the school each day through the front gate and witnessing these behaviours being displayed. Can I encourage each of you to have a chat with your child about what these mean to them and talk through some examples.

It’s the very simple things that mean so very much to others when they experience an interaction with your child-

Saying please, thankyou or excuse me when appropriate
Allowing another person to go first through a door or gate
Waiting to speak to an adult or another person when they are in the midst of a conversation
Knocking on a door and waiting to be invited into a room/house
Using playground equipment or playing a game safely
Not to speak whilst others are speaking

This list is not exhaustive, but I am sure you get the gist of what I am talking about. Children often forget simple courtesies and it is our role as teachers and you as parents to remind and teach them of how to interact and behave appropriately in a variety of contexts.

We never expect students to be perfect. They are only learning, and their brains are developing. We can never expect them to be ‘mini adults’. So, we expect them to make mistakes, do some impulsive things and forget what appropriate behaviour is at certain times. Teaching and learning takes time, however together we can make great progress if we work together and be consistent.

PREP 2025 PARENT INFORMATION EVENING

It was wonderful to hear that so many new and current parents attended the prep parent information evening last night - unfortunately I was unable to attend due to illness. Our current prep teachers did a wonderful job of explaining the prep program.

I must applaud the year 6 students who came along to undertake guided tours for the parents. They were articulate and very respectful, with many positive comments being made by parents. One parent commented ‘if these are the type of students that exit Milton, I cannot wait for my child to be a part of this great school’. Well done one and all for your efforts.

We still have a small number of spaces remaining and will be closing off any out of catchment offers in the next few weeks.

If you know of anyone who is yet to enrol either in or out of catchment, please encourage them to make contact with our reception via enrolments@miltonss.eq.edu.au

ENROLMENT IN 2026

As we enter the second half 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 enrolments@miltonss.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.

We now have around 90 enrolments for prep 2026.

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.

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

ICAS 2025

If your child was registered and has missed an ICAS Competition, please contact ICAS. This link provides further information.

https://www.icasassessments.com/refund-policy/

Last week we celebrated National Science Week with our very own Milton Museum. The students were amazed at all the taxidermied animals and hands-on learning. We measured the length of a carpet python skin, used magnifying glasses to explore tools of land and sea, made shadow puppets with torches, patted a turtle and sketched a tawny frogmouth. We love Science!

City District Track & Field Results

On Thursday 24th July & Friday 25th July, 50 of our talented athletes competed in the City District Track & Field at Bowden Park. Competing across track events including 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m and 4x100m relays and in field events including high jump, long jump, shot put and discus, our students performed exceptionally well, and we ended up 4th in A school’s division and 6th in the overall percentage trophy. This is percentage based on performance and total points against the number of students across 4-6 in each school. Out of 33 schools within the district this is a brilliant result and a tremendous improvement on last year. Well done to each team member for their efforts, performances and playing their part in this result.

City District Athletics Team members who will be competing on Tuesday 26th August and Wednesday 27th August at QSAC in the Met North Track & Field Championships; Hudson G (800m & 1500m), Isobel S (100m & 200m), Edwina S (100m, 200m & 800m), Emily G (800m & 1500m), Talia F (High Jump), Divya R (Shot Put), Hugo T (Shot Put & Discus), Audrey L (Long Jump) and Madison (High Jump). We wish them all the very best and look forward to hearing how they perform in the attempt to reach the state level of school athletics!

Queensland School Sport Touch Football

Edwina S of Year 6 last week headed off to Roma with her Met North 10-12 years Girls Touch Football team to compete at the Queensland School Sport Touch Football Championships.

Results…… 2025 10-12 Girls Qld School Sport Touch Championships (Roma, Qld)

On Day 1, Edwina and her MN team played three games. The day, whilst starting with a loss 9-0 to Capricornia region only trended upward. The MN girls played significantly better in their second match, a 4-2 loss to the Sunshine Coast before their final game was a 1-1 draw to Darling Downs in which Edwina was voted the players player award!

On Day 2, playing Met East in their first game, the girls went down 8-1 in a tough start to the day. Their second game against the Peninsula region saw the girls getting their first win of the tournament. A terrific team effort and 5-1 win. To cap off day 2, the girls continued their good form and improved again to defeat Wide Bay with the result in the end a 4-3 nailbiter.

On Day 3, another tough day with a win and two losses however they continued to improve and have fun. They scored two tries against South Coast - Met East are the only other team to do that.

Eddie got best and fairest from the other team in one of the games.

On day 4, Edwina and her MN team had a win and a loss on the final day.

There was a shoot out for the teams who didn’t make the grand final which was fun.

Despite the results not going the teams way, Edwina, playing in the wing position for her MN team, played very well, defending extremely well and even getting a few tries over the line. Her efforts no doubt have given her valuable experience playing against the best touch footballers in all of Queensland and will no doubt have bettered many aspects of her game in the process. Well done, Edwina, this is the highest level of Touch Football in Qld School Sport, hold your head high, we’re all proud of you!

Southeast Queensland Football Championship Day

We wish our Senior Girls, and Mr. McMahon, all the very best at the upcoming Southeast Queensland Championships at Aspley SHS on Monday 1st September. The girls will play two round robin games, against the Met East and Darling Downs regional winners, in the attempt to make the final for the second year in a row.

Go girls go, we’re all very excited to hear how you perform!

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

It’s Book Week!

Welcome to the most exciting time of the year for libraries, around Australia. It’s an opportunity to celebrate Aussie book creatives, promote reading for pleasure and enjoy the wonderful world of libraries, especially our very own!

Students at Milton have been preparing for book week since the beginning of term 3, discovering and reading the CBCA shortlist books, creating amazing displays, and entering competitions.

Author Kate Foster kicked off the festivities for years 4-6. Kate began the session by sharing with everyone that she is autistic, that her books have some characters with autism too and there is often a furry friend, always a dog. She told the group that authors like to write about things they like. Kate writes about:

Family and friendships

Mental health and wellbeing

Autism and being autistic.

Dogs- they connect everything else that she writes about.

She let us in on the secret life of her job as an author. As an author she loves to sit in her bed, eat snacks, in her pj’s surrounded by dogs and make something up. That is the basis of her writing! Then there is the bonus of talking about writing, visiting schools, book parties, receiving fan mail and travel. Kate had some eager listeners wondering if they too could become authors. It was a fascinating visit. Kate also had the extra pressure of judging the tooth fairy house competition.

There are 4 copies of Paws and The Bravest Word, 2 copies of Harriet Hound to purchase if anyone would like to buy a copy. Please use the order form and bring the order number to confirm the purchase and receive your book.

There will be many excited tooth fairies ready to move into our tooth fairy village in The Hive. There is glitter aplenty, flowers, disco balls, gardens, comfortable beds, sacks of teeth and woodland friends amongst the competition entries to the tooth fairy house competition.

Congratulations to Rose, Mila, Maddie, Sophia, Charlotte, Freya, and Josie, Dulguun, Avaya and Millie.

Congratulations to Remi, Trixie, Lulu, Sebastian, Sammy, and Rylee for their adventurous photos. I’m not sure if your families are aware of some of the risks you took whilst reading your books!

Book week adventures are happening during every lunch break too. Make sure you visit The Hive to make some origami bookmarks, paper bag suitcases, go digging for stories, flower paper folding creations, build Lego tooth fairy houses, bus decorating, play book week board games and Friday karaoke.

The Book Fair and the Sweet Soiree - a Sweet Success!

The Hive was filled with beautiful books from the Where the Wild Things Are bookshop for Milton families to go shopping and support our library collection and personal libraries at home. Students from the senior choir, strings and guitar classes performed in front of loved ones at the Sweet Soiree. The delightful sounds provided the perfect accompaniment to glimpse the talented artwork on display. Thank you to the P&C for supporting the event, Mrs Ravenscroft, Mr Adeney and Laura Mulcahy for bringing the student performances and artwork together for this amazing evening.

The book fair raised just over $800 to contribute towards new books for our collection. Congratulations to the Franklin family who were the lucky recipients of the $200 lucky door prize.

New books for our collection.

Prep students were excited and happy to see their completed picture books. This was the culmination of many weeks work, coming up with ideas, developing the plot and creating illustrations. Perhaps this will set the ball rolling for future authors and illustrators from Milton State School. Watch this space!

The Great Book Swap.

WEDNESDAY 3 SEPTEMBER

Gold Coin donation for The Indigenous Literacy Foundation

Bring a book, swap a book, find a book!

Located at the Junior Learning Centre

Haig Road entrance.

We currently have 450 overdue books.

Everyone can place their books in the return tubs before school Monday – Friday and during lunch times Monday to Thursday. If your child has lost or misplaced a book, please let me know as soon as possible so I may search for it at school or organise for you to be invoiced the cost of the missing/ lost book.

The Hive book club for year 5 and 6.

Date: Thursday 11 September

Time: 6pm – 8pm

Place: The Hive

RSVP: Monday 8 September (please let me know of any dietary requirements)

Book: The List, Patricia Forde

Cost: $10 / family

You can find it at BCC libraries, on Sora, Ebooks and as an audiobook.

Congratulations to Katrina Nannestad on her third win of this Historical Fiction prize. You can borrow her war novels from our Senior Fiction section and look out for Silver Linings on the fiction shelves.

Young Writers - Hurry - Entries close 19 September!

Book Links Short Story Competition 2025
For children in Grades 4 – 6

Write a short story 500-1000 words
Any subject
The story must be fiction and all your own work.
The story must meet the conditions of entry
and follow the guidelines published on the website.
The winner will receive $100
and have their story published on the Story Links website.
Deadline: 19 September
Shortlist announced: 5 October
Winner announced: 18 October

Make sure you read the conditions and guidelines before you enter.

Coordinated and Judged by Claire Monsour, Alison Rutstein, Louise Dark and Ann Patchett Gough from the Write Links team

Happy Reading,
Justine
jcoop297@eq.edu.au

NEXT MEETING

Tue 16th September, 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!

UPCOMING EVENTS

FATHER'S AND SPECIAL PERSON'S DAY

This year, the P&C have expanded our celebrations with three initiatives, as below.

BBQ Breakfast

Thu 4th Sep, 7AM -8.30AM

This is the first of its kind for us here at MSS, so we would love your support! It's sure to be a morning of fun. Buy your tickets on Qkr! - sales will close off at 4pm on Mon 1st Sep to allow us to finalise catering orders.

Custom-printed Tshirts

Order by 1st Sep for delivery to classrooms on 4th Sep

We have secured some custom t-shirts - RRP $49.95, and we're able to offer them for just $25!!
Place your order here via a Google form
Note, once orders are in, we will contact you with a Qkr link for payment on 1st Sep

Gift Stall

Thu 4th Sep, during school time (each class will be given specific times to attend)

We are calling on donations from you to help add to our fantastic gifts sourced from suppliers. If you can donate fragrances, craft items, baked goodies, lollies, chocolates and everything else in between please contact Meagan: meaganwakefield@icloud.com or 0450183335.

The P&C thanks you in advance for your support in making this the biggest and best Father's Day and Special Carer's Day yet, helping with our fundraising!

Fair on the Green - October 18

We're just under 2 months away from our biggest event of the year - stay tuned for updates and make sure your calendar is marked! The volunteer register will be sent around in Week 9 as will our first newsletter. In the meantime, make sure you are following us on Instagram @mssfaironthegreen and heading to our website www.faironthegreen.com.au, and also sharing our Facebook event!

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

Some news from 2 of our sponsors:

salud! - one of our new locals, this 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.
Teacup Coach - upcoming holiday workshops are happening, head to teacupcoach.com to find out more!

PREVIOUS EVENTS

Trivia - Aug 2

On Saturday night 2nd August, we held our parents trivia evening at Red Hill Bowls Club, with 12 teams competing (and some cracking team names!). Thank you to all of you who bought tickets and attended - we had 92 people, with many laughs, lots of pizza, plenty of drinks and a fun dance floor! Thank you also to those who bought raffle tickets, including those who couldn't come to trivia.

Huge congrats to The Quizzicals who came out on top - two points clear of their nearest competitors. These guys won the trophy, a hamper from TB's Beer & Wine at Rosalie, a Grill'd gift voucher each & a Hoppy's Superwash carwash each!

Through ticket sales & our raffle, we have made $7k which is an amazing result.

A few big shout-outs for making the night happen - led by P&C Exec Leah Beadman, with Phoebe Sale & Emily Goldsmith assisting by securing some fabulous raffle prizes, and P&C Exec Sarah Bassett for behind-the-scenes financial support & running the pizza & snack organisation on the night!

Monty's Colour & Slime Fun Run - August 22

Held this week after being postponed from March, the lead up is always full of friendly competition and the day a fabulous one. All official results will be shared in the Week 10 newsletter and in school emails - as this newsletter submission has been written prior to the event taking place, but published afterwards!

A huge thank you to April Thomas-Senescall and Teagan Williams for leading the charge here, with support from P&C Exec Leah Beadman & Thomas Rice. Thank you also to the volunteers who help on the day with set up & the stations!