Term 3 has started strongly, with our learners settling back into their routines with great enthusiasm!

We have an exciting term ahead for our school community. Please refer to the Term 3 Parent Calendar for a full overview. Our Semester 1 report cards were emailed home this afternoon, reflecting student achievement, effort, and overall progress for all Prep-Year 6 learners.

I was fortunate enough to attend the Northern Eagle Track and Field trials on Wednesday and Thursday this week. All of our 10–12-year-old competitors should be extremely proud of the way they represented our school. They competed hard, and maintained a high level of respect and sportsmanship, on and off the track.

This coming week, the focus shifts away from sport to the performing arts. We are hosting the Westcent Intermediate and Advanced workshops for selected Band and Strings students from schools including Jamboree Heights, Jindalee, Middle Park, Oxley, Corinda and Graceville State Schools. What a great opportunity for all involved!! Please be aware that this will cause some extra traffic around the school at drop off and pick up times. 

Kindness continues to be our number 1 value at Jamboree Heights. It is heart-warming to see so many kind acts occurring from children and staff across our school. Over the last two weeks, we have celebrated the following learners who have been nominated for the Kindness Throne.

Murphy (4A) was nominated for showing initiative, and for going out of his way to welcome a new learner to JHSS. Murphy spent his lunch breaks showing this learner around the school and inviting them to play. Well done, Murphy!

Please note: 

• Electrical upgrade works are scheduled to begin at the end of Week 3 and continue through to Week 5. This will impact areas around the Administration, G Block (1L and Prep F), and our prep play space. Once finalised, a detailed communication will be sent to the school community outlining the plan and any relevant changes to access.
• A reminder to our school community to please follow all road signage around the school, particularly during drop-off and pick-up times, to help ensure the safety of all students and families. We’ve recently observed a number of vehicles stopping in the No Standing zone on Patrol Street to collect children. This creates a safety risk and makes it difficult for other cars to pass along the already narrow road. We kindly ask all families to support a safe and smooth pickup by following road rules and using designated parking and pickup areas.

We hope all our learners and families enjoyed a restful break and are recharged for Term 3. We’re looking forward to a fantastic term filled with engaging learning, exciting excursions, and opportunities for every learner.  

PBL Term 3

PBL is off to a roaring start this term with many of our learners reaching the 100 gotcha mark! We are so impressed with the commitment and effort from all learners in following our expectations of being safe, respectful and responsible.

Just a reminder that Kooka’s shop is open on Thursdays to the recipients of their 50, 100,150 and 200 gotcha awards.

Our PBL focus for the week has been lunch expectations. This includes but is not limited to learners bringing a lunchbox with them to their eating area for both first and second breaks. We are trying to encourage learners to be eating at both breaks. Even if your child has a tuckshop order for first break, it is worth packing an additional snack for second break to keep learners energised and engaged for the remainder of the day.

Time to Celebrate our first ever 200 GOTCHA awardee!

We are excited to announce that Alex C (3Z) is our first ever student to reach 200 Gotchas as part of our Positive Behaviour for Learning journey! This is a remarkable achievement, reflecting Alex’s consistent safe, respectful, and responsible choices at Jamboree Heights State school.

To recognise this milestone, Alex will receive a special Golden Kookaburra iron-on transfer to proudly display on his hat or shirt. We can’t wait to see our first Golden Kookaburra shining in our playground!

Congratulations Alex.

Year 5 STARLAB

During Week One, the Year 5 learners at JHSS thoroughly enjoyed the amazing experience of a visit from Star Lab. We were able to walk into a dark dome where stars and planets were projected onto the sky, helping us travel around the solar system learning about planets and the solar system. This experience helped us grow our understanding of this vast topic.

We learned how many Earth years it takes for different planets to orbit the Sun, along with fascinating facts about each individual planet. One cool fact we discovered was that the universe is enormous, with more stars than grains of sand on Earth. We also learned how massive our Sun is —it could fit about 1.3 million Earths inside!

Students also explored constellations, such as Zeus, the Greek god, and Luna, the Roman goddess. We learned more about the satellites humans have sent into space.

We are all extremely grateful that the school provides us with these exciting experiences, and we are very thankful to Star Lab for visiting us.

Year 6 Science Day

On Wednesday 23rd of July, the year 6 cohort went to Centenary State High School to conduct an experiment on the absorbency of paper towels. Shortly after arriving we went to the science labs to begin the experience. As we arrived at the science lab, we had to ensure safety first. This meant putting on an apron and safety glasses. The experiment was to see if different brands of paper towels affected the absorbency. There were 3 beakers of coloured water, a pipette in each beaker, and finally, 3 test tubes. The cohort had to use the pipet to put 5 ml of coloured water in each test tube. We took a sample of the first brand of paper towel. Obviously, to make it fit into the test tube, we had to fold it up. We kept folding the paper towel, then we twisted it until was long and thin enough to fit in the test tube. The paper towel was placed into a test tube full of water, after 30 seconds the paper towel was taken out of the water and measured vertically. We were measuring the absorbency of each paper towel. We repeated these steps for the next 2 paper towel brands.

This was a wonderful experience and everyone really enjoyed it.

Prep 2026

We greatly appreciate our new and returning families who have returned Prep enrolment forms for 2026. Not only does this assist us with our prep classes for 2026, it also allows us to communicate upcoming transition events and booking platforms. If you know anyone who has a child commencing Prep in 2026, we ask they submit their enrolment forms as soon as possible.

At Jamboree Heights, we are passionate about getting to know each of our Prep learners and their families. We look forward to continuing this journey during the Prep transition sessions commencing on August 4.

If you have returned enrolment forms, and are in catchment, please keep an eye out for the booking link which has been emailed, please also check your Junk folder. 

If you haven't received an email with the booking link please call the office on (07) 3725 5666.

Prep Transition Sessions

Monday 4th August                                                            

Tuesday 5th August

Wednesday 6th August

Prep Interviews

Friday 24th October

Prep Orientation Morning

Friday 14th November - 9:00-11:00am

Prep Wildlife Incursion

In Science, our Preps are learning about living things and what they need to survive.  Yesterday, they were visited by the Wildlife Rangers who brought a variety of animals to help our Preps learn about native Australian animals, their needs and how they survive in their environment. There are certainly some brave learners in Prep!

Prep Sports Day

As long as the weather is kind to us, we will be holding our Prep Sports day with Jamboree C&K from 9am – 11am on:

• Tuesday, August 12 – Prep F and Prep D
• Thursday, August 14 – Prep C, K and V

We start the day with 60m sprint races and then move into rotational activities. Parents are welcome to attend, and we ask that you view from the banks of the oval as the grandstand will be filled with our Prep learners and our C&K friends. Prep Learners are welcome to wear their sport house shirt on their sports day. Please keep an eye out for emails from your class teacher for further information.

Hello, my name is Chappy Harry, and I’m the new chaplain at the school.

I began in Week 4 of last term, and I’ve really enjoyed my first seven weeks here. It’s been a wonderful experience so far, and I’ve especially loved getting to know the students and starting to build strong relationships.

I’ve spent time visiting classrooms, playing sports during lunch breaks, and leading various afternoon activities—just a few of the many great opportunities I’ve had to connect with the school community.

I’m excited to see what this term holds and am looking forward to continuing to foster a positive, supportive, and fun environment throughout the school.

Warm regards,
Chappy Harry

Lunchtime Clubs and Activities

For Term 3, we continue to offer a wide range of clubs and activities designed to engage and support our learners. With something on offer for everyone, we’re confident your child will find an activity that sparks their interest.

Please note that some clubs have updated times this term. Refer to the Club Overview Term 3 for full details of what’s available. A few key changes to note:

• Garden Club will again run on Tuesday 1st break and Thursday before school
• Lego Club has moved to Friday 1st break (previously Wednesday)
• Maker Space will now be held only on Tuesday 1st break – open to all year levels
• Conservation Club – now confirmed to be open to Year 1 to 6 learners
• Many learners have expressed interest in participating in Opti-MINDS and Debating

We encourage you to explore these options with your child and support them in trying something new. If they’re unsure about joining a club, we suggest they attend at least once—it might be just the right fit!

Clubs in the spotlight

Hangout Zone - Year 3 & 4 | Monday to Thursday 2nd break in 4M classroom

We’re seeing an increasing number of Year 3 and 4 learners visiting the Hang-Out Zone during 2nd break with wonderful Mrs Milne. They can choose from a variety of activities, including drawing, puzzles, board games, and LEGO construction. For many, it’s been a wonderful opportunity to connect with others and build new friendships. 

Conservation Club - Year 1 to 6 | Thursday 1st break (11am start - bring your lunch)

Conservation Club has been busy with meaningful, hands-on projects. Learners from Years 1 to 6 have created artwork to raise awareness about platypuses in our local waterways and are now designing labels for native plants around the school. These will feature illustrations of local wildlife and form part of a fun scavenger hunt in the lead-up to Tree Planting Day, supported by the Sustainability Committee.

Senior students are also creating clips to promote Containers for Change, while others are preparing lunchtime games for the junior school. It’s been a fantastic mix of creativity, collaboration, and environmental action!

Supporting Diverse Learners at Jamboree Heights – NCCD Collection

Our school support model is based on the  Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD). Students who face specific challenges or disabilities, and who require additional support, may be included in the NCCD. 

The NCCD recognises that learners require different levels of adjustment and categorises support into four tiers:

• Quality Differentiated Teaching Practice (provided occasionally)
• Supplementary (provided often)
• Substantial (provided most of the time)
• Extensive (provided at all times)

At the school level, any learner included in the NCCD will have a Personal Learning Record that outlines their specific areas of need and the key adjustments in place. One of the strengths of the NCCD is its inclusive approach to all types of disabilities, with a focus on the strategies we use to help learners access the classroom curriculum and school activities.

If your child is currently included in the NCCD or is being considered for inclusion, you will be contacted individually in the coming months to discuss this. For more information on the legislative requirements and what data is shared with the Australian Government, please refer to the  NCCD Fact Sheet.

It’s important to note that a student does not need to be included in the NCCD to receive additional support. In our classrooms, we recognise a wide range of learning needs and strive to support all learners every day through high-quality teaching practices. Many students who receive support do not have a diagnosed disability. This includes students who need enrichment or extension, those learning English as a second language, and those with mild learning difficulties or behavioural challenges.

For further information about the NCCD or the data collection process, please contact Alister Warren at awarr26@eq.edu.au.

ICAS Testing 2025 – Year 2 to Year 6

We’re pleased to again offer ICAS testing in 2025 for students in Years 2 to 6. Assessments are available in English, Mathematics, and Science for all participating year levels, with Writing available for students in Years 3 to 6.

To minimise disruption to regular classes and learning, we will trial running all ICAS assessments before school on the following dates:

ICAS Test Schedule – 2025

• Writing (Years 3–6) – Tuesday, 5 August | 7:45–9:00 am
• English (Years 2–6) – Tuesday, 12 August | 7:45–9:00 am
• Science (Years 2–6) – Tuesday, 19 August | 7:45–9:00 am
• Mathematics (Years 2–6) – Tuesday, 26 August | 7:45–9:00 am

Registration

To participate, families must complete registration and payment by Monday, 28 July. Full details, including how to register, are available in the ICAS Instructions.

Test Preparation

• All tests are completed online using iPads.
• For the Writing assessment, a locked-down browser must be installed in advance. You can download it here:
  https://www.icasassessments.com/support-locked-down-browser/
• To familiarise your child with the test format, you can view sample tests on the ICAS website (scroll to the bottom and select Introductory Level):
  https://www.icasassessments.com/icas-preparation-tools/
• There is no need for extra study. These tests assess skills and knowledge developed through regular classroom learning.

Catch-Up Sessions

If your child is unable to attend a scheduled test due to illness or a school commitment (e.g. choir), a catch-up session will be available on the Thursday of that same week.

Further information regarding test locations and preparation tips will be sent to families of registered students closer to the testing dates.

If you have any questions about ICAS or your child’s participation, please contact Alister Warren at awarr26@eq.edu.au

Indigenous Literacy Foundation Book Swap

We had a great time at our ILF Book Swap. It was great to see so many wonderful books getting recycled. Thank you for all the gold coin and online donations. At the time of writing, we have raised over $300 for the ILF.

Readers Cup

Congratulations again to our two Readers Cup teams who received their participation certificates recently on Senior Assembly.

Library Bags

Thank you for sending a library bag or red home folder with your learner on their library day. This helps protect the library books. 

Thanks to our lovely library volunteer Gail Pearen, we have lots of spare bags for learners to borrow in the event they forget their own library bag. We would appreciate it if these temporary bags could be returned the next day to the library, to ensure we have enough on hand. We are currently missing many of these temporary bags – if you spot one in your child’s bag or at home, could you please ask them to drop it in to the library?

Here’s some of the latest bags Gail has made! She has also been busy sewing bookmarks for us. Did I mention she also covers most of the books in our library and is well on her way to beat last year’s total of 500 books covered? Thank you, Gail. We appreciate all you do for our library.

CBCA Book Week 2025 – “Book an Adventure”

The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book Week takes place nationally from 16-23 August. Learners have been enjoying reading some of the shortlisted books and predicting the ones they think will be judged “book of the year” by the CBCA judges.

More information on Book Week activities and competitions will be sent out to families shortly.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

Well done to those who have already returned their form! The reading period closes 22 August. Still plenty of time to achieve the 15 books read for year 5 & 6 or 20 books for Prep to year 4. You can access the form here. When finished, print and send back to the library OR feel free to email it to Ms Edwards gedwa16@eq.edu.au or your child’s teacher.

Questions?

If you have any questions, email Ms Edwards – gedwa16@eq.edu.au

You can access our school library catalogue here. Parents are welcome to become library borrowers, too. Drop in and see us if you’d like to sign up.

Coming up soon in our school music calendar

Week 3 – Instrumental workshops (Westcent/Centenary Corinda Cluster Workshops)

Week 6 – Instrumental Recruiting begins

Week 8 – Singfest (Senior Choir)

Do you want your child to play an instrument beginning in 2026?

If your child is currently in Year 2, they can be considered to begin a string instrument.

If your child is currently in Year 3, they can be considered to begin a band instrument (percussion, brass or woodwind).

More information will be coming soon. Expressions of interest will open in Week 6.

Here is the timeline for the recruiting process. If you have any questions please email Mrs Brydon dbryd1@eq.edu.au

WESTCENT WORKSHOPS

Week 3 is Westcent Workshops week for selected students.

Tuesday and Wednesday is the Advanced workshop. Thursday is the Intermediate workshop.

• All learners to arrive at 8:15am in the old Hall to get their name marked off by teachers (if you are in choir please come to choir for 15 mins before going to Westcent).
• Bring lunch, water bottle, hat. Learners won’t be able to access tuckshop, as break times are different to the school's lunch breaks
• Bring Instrument, NAMED music stand and a pencil/eraser.
• Wear normal school uniform. 
• No iPads required – please leave at home.

Please note finish times for the workshops are different each day:

• Tuesday - 2:30pm finish – collect from old hall or pick up zone.
• Wednesday - students remain at school with workshop teachers for 4:30pm concert in MPC (finish approx. 5:15pm).
• Thursday - 2pm concert in MPC for parents. 2:30pm finish.
• If you child is to attend OSCH on Tuesday or Thursday afternoons, they will remain in the MPC with workshop staff until 3pm, when they will be released to OSHC.

If your child is to be released to walk home (rather than a parent collect) at 2:30pm please email their instrumental teacher to let them know.

REHEARSALS WEEK 3

YES – Junior Band and lessons are ON on Monday!

No Senior Band on Wed morning

No Junior Strings on Wed afternoon

No Senior Strings on Thursday morning

All choir rehearsals are on – if students are in choir and attending Westcent, please send them to choir for 15 mins and Mrs Brydon will send them down to Westcent.

A LITTLE BIT OF MUSIC FUN

Here are the clips that upper school students have watched recently in Music. We often only watch part of the clip in class due to time constraints and the learners are always asking to watch the rest. I tell them to ask their parents to show them from the newsletter. Why not watch them as a family and share the fun!

Week 1 -  ANNA MEREDITH - Paramour

Week 2 – Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi - Performed by Marlin, Squidward, Gru, & Buzz Lightyear ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

The Hidden Side of Music Rehearsals: What happens when learners play a wrong note?

Music rehearsals are more than just practice sessions; they are dynamic environments where growth and development happen in real-time. Often, the focus is on perfecting notes and refining techniques, but there is a hidden side to these rehearsals that goes unnoticed.

When a student plays a wrong note, it's not just a mistake—it's an opportunity for brain growth, empathy, and team cohesion. Understanding what happens during these moments of tension reveals the profound impact of collective musical practice on both individual and group resilience. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ 

Northern Eagles Track and Field trials

Congratulations to our JHSS Athletics team who proudly represented our school over the last two days at QSAC. There have been some outstanding results but more importantly friendly competition, great sportsmanship and maximum effort given at every event!

Running Club

Running Club starts week 3! Running Club returns for term 3 on a Tuesday morning, 8am on the oval. Please bring a hat, water bottle and a change of socks or shoes as the oval can be damp.

Interschool Sport

Interschool Sport will run again this semester across terms 3 and 4. The dates are:

Week 1 – August 22 (Term 3, Week 6)

Week 2 – August 29 (Term 3, Week 7)

Week 3 – September 12 (Term 3, Week 9)

Week 4 – October 10 (Term 4, Week 1)

Week 5 – October 17 (Term 4, Week 2)

[Reserve Day – October 24 (Term 4, Week 3)]

In term 2, learners made their sport selection from:

AFL (Akuna Oval), Basketball (JHSS), Volleyball (Jindalee SS) and Touch Football (Moggill).

• All student mobile phones MUST be signed in at the office each morning.
• Students are NOT permitted to have any medication on them, all medication MUST be held at the office.
• Jewellery is NOT permitted except ear studs, watches and medical bracelets/necklaces.
• Playgrounds are NOT available to students before school.
• CLASSES START AT 8:50am EVERY DAY! (late arrivals impact on the learning and teaching).
• Student Absence Email Address: We now have an email address for notifying the school about student absence if you find email more convenient than phoning the school office (absentees@jamboreeheightsss.eq.edu.au).
• Payments: We are no longer able to accept cash payment. Both QParents and BPoint are easy, convenient online payment options. Full details of payment options are available on our website. Our office is currently open for payments from 8:00am-9:30am or 2:30pm-3:30pm, Monday to Friday.
• Office Hours: Please note the office hours below. Whilst staff are in attendance before and after these advertised times, these are the times that are available for our community to access office staff:
  
  • 8:00am to 3:30pm

Before School Play

• Before school each day, all students must be sitting in the Junior Shed unless sitting with a parent near their classroom. We insist on NO play on the various playground structures or playing handball before school even if parents are supervising as it entices others to join in, and we have no formal supervision in place before school.

Allergies

At Jamboree Heights State School, we have a number of students who suffer from a range of allergies. For some students, these allergies can be life-threatening. Therefore, we ask the following of parents of children with an allergy:

• Discuss your child’s allergy with their teacher as soon as possible and consider giving permission to share your child’s medical condition with other students and families
• Ensure all medical records are up to date on our school system
• If your child suffers from Anaphylaxis, please ensure their Action Plan and Epi-Pen are current and renewed annually
• Continue educating your child about allergy management
• Plan with the teacher for camps, excursions, sport, cooking at school, and special occasions throughout the year

For all other families, we ask the following:

• Find out from teachers if there is someone with an allergy in the classroom
• Try to consider children with allergies when sending in special treats like birthday food
• Educate your child about allergies, not sharing food, washing hands, and finding help if a friend is showing the symptoms of a reaction
• Be mindful of lunchbox contents such as foods containing nuts and eggs and the impact it may have on children with an allergy. We have a NO SHARING policy!

Finally, our school staff are educated annually on the topic of allergies and also undertake training in the use of Epi-Pens.

Homework

Our school’s policy on Homework:

At Jamboree Heights State School homework will include nightly reading (using appropriate levels and text types) and Computer or iPad tasks such as Reading Eggs, Reading Eggspress, Mathletics, Maths Seeds, Mighty Maths, etc. and occasional alternative tasks such as research, sight words, unit-based tasks, etc. but NO weekly homework sheet or grid, etc. If parents wish for their child to be given NO homework or only certain aspects above, then they can make a formal request in writing (or email) to the teacher. If computer or iPad access at home is difficult then students can make arrangements with their teacher for additional access before or after school or during breaks.

QParents

QParents allows parents to connect instantly with us to access and manage their child’s student information, anytime, anywhere, through a smartphone, tablet or computer. 

• Attendance and absence details, as well as the ability to notify the school of an absence 
• Academic report cards 
• Viewing unpaid invoice details, payment history, and making payments online 
• Viewing and updating personal student details, including medical conditions and address 
• Enrolment details 
• Online excursion permissions

For more information see the QParents page on our website.

School Payments

Please note that payments must be made by due dates to ensure your child can attend the various extra-curricular events. Departmental financial practice dictates that we must immediately write off invoices for non-payment and therefore notify numbers based on this. At the end of each term we are required to provide Debtor Statements to those with outstanding invoices attached to their account, so it is very important that invoices are removed in a timely manner for each excursion/incursion or event.

Full details of payment methods can be found on the school website.

Messages from Parents

Requests for messages to be relayed to students during school hours, particularly regarding afternoon pickup arrangements interrupt both the office staff and teachers in the classroom. It is a good idea to confirm with your child each morning what the plan is for the afternoon, and have a regular meeting spot for them to go to if they are ever unsure. While some appointments and changes of plans are inevitable, we would appreciate your efforts in keeping these to a minimum.

The Administration email address is admin@jamboreeheightsss.eq.edu.au.