Term 3 is progressing so quickly! One of the best things about this term is I have had a chance to visit more classrooms to observe teaching and learning and provide feedback to staff about the great work they are doing with their students. This is exciting and rewarding.

Temporary change in Principal and Deputy Principal: I have accepted the Acting Principal position at Mackenzie Special School in Brisbane from Tuesday 19th August to Friday 10th October.

During my absence:

Phil Whatt will be Acting Principal at Gympie Special School.

Shellie Pursey will remain in her role of Acting Deputy Principal. Shellie is currently filling in as Deputy Principal while Phil is on secondment at Rosella Park Special School until 18th August.

I will return to Gympie Special School on Monday 13th October, week 2 Term 4.

Student achievement: I really enjoy seeing the student progress that occurs across time and recently I met with Karen Abt, our Head of Curriculum, to discuss the progress students have made over the past 12 months. It was wonderful to hear that 12 of our students from Prep to Year 10 went up a curriculum level! This is a fantastic result of 13% of our students moving up a curriculum level from the end of 2024 to the middle of 2025. WOW!

School Support Staff Recognition Week: This week we are celebrating School Support Staff Recognition Week. We will be celebrating the great work our support staff do here at Gympie Special School. This week recognises, respects and celebrates what they do to make our schools safe, well maintained, supportive and engaging places to work. We could NOT do our jobs without the hard work, positive approaches and dedication our support staff provide here at GSS. At GSS our support staff includes:

• Jess and Bec - our Administration Officers
• Cherie - our Business Manager
• Adam - our School and Grounds Officer
• Greg - our IT Officer
• Megan and Simone - our Speech Language Pathologists
• Janet and Elizabeth - our Occupational Therapists
• Kaidee and Naomi – our Physiotherapists
• Rachel – our Chaplain

At GSS, we celebrate the hard work these staff do to support our students, staff, and families. By taking on non-teaching tasks, support staff allow teachers to focus on unit and lesson planning, assessment and direct instruction. They are vital to the smooth running of our school. Thank you to these awesome staff members!

School Opinion Survey: Thank you to those families who have completed the Online School Opinion Survey. The survey helps to identify areas our school can improve to make sure we are doing everything we can to make our school an excellent school – please help by completing the survey to let us know what we are doing well and where we can improve!

Shout out to our Hardworking P&C: Miss Liz, one of our Senior Sector teachers is our P&C secretary and she has been working so hard to fundraise and improve the schooling experience of our students. With our treasurer Tricia, a past parent and past teacher aide they are both making a difference for your child, working tirelessly to fundraise and support the school, to ensure our students can have wonderful experiences during their schooling.

Our school just can not do what we do without the support of our parents, caregivers and friends of Gympie Special School and our P&C is integral to supporting our students.

If you are interested in being a P&C member, please come along to our next meeting on MONDAY 1^st September at 3pm in the admin building. Your child is welcome to stay during the meeting.  

Thank you for your continued support.

Best wishes

Sarah Lester

Principal

Thank you to everyone for making my first weeks at Gympie Special School so warm and welcoming. It’s been wonderful to be back and to see the growth and changes that have taken place over the past two years. I especially enjoyed being part of the PBL rewards shopping today—smiles all around and plenty of thoughtful discussions about whether to spend tickets now or save for bigger items later. It was fantastic to see how many Ardy Tickets have been earned across the school, with some students having saved more than 180 tickets!

I’m looking forward to working with you all for the rest of the term. If you’d like to chat about your student—or just drop by to say hello—my door is always open.

Shellie Pursey

Deputy Principal

Term 3, Week 5 – August 2025

We’re halfway through Term 3 and there’s a real buzz of learning around the school! It’s been fantastic to see students so engaged, especially with our strong focus on structured literacy, helping every child grow as a confident reader and writer.

Building Strong Readers, Every Day
This year, we’ve put structured literacy front and centre. Backed by solid research, this approach helps students build strong foundations in reading and writing through:

• Daily instructional routines focussing on phonics, grapheme phoneme awareness
• Decodable books linked to individual student progress
• Dictation and word chaining activities

Behind the scenes, our teachers are working hard, taking part in professional learning and planning together to deliver consistent, high-quality lessons.

Exciting Library Additions!
To support all this great literacy work, we’ve stocked our library with brand-new decodable readers, perfect for building skills and confidence. We’ve also added a stack of exciting new storybooks, so every child can find something they’ll love, no matter where they’re at in their reading journey.

Thanks for making reading a part of home life too, just 10–15 minutes a day can make a huge impact!

Book Week is Coming!
Mark your calendar: from 19 August, students can visit our fun and educational Book Week stand to browse and purchase some fantastic reads.

Warm regards,
Karen Abt
Head of Curriculum

Early Years 1 News

Our Early Years students have been busy exploring, learning, and having fun! A highlight this term has been our visits to RDA each Wednesday for horse riding. The children have been enjoying their horse-riding sessions, developing confidence, balance, and a love for these gentle animals. We also took part in National Tree Planting Day, working together to plant more native plants in our school grounds. This linked well to our Science Unit where we are learning about the weather and how it effects our environment.

In the classroom, our Rhyme Time unit has been filled with music and laughter. A clear favourite has been I’m a Little Teapot, which has had everyone singing and doing the actions with enthusiasm. Counting and number activities are the focus of our Maths Unit and the students have enjoyed investigating numbers, counting objects and learning actions to counting rhymes and songs.

Tuesdays have been all about soccer with Coach Tim. The students have loved developing their ball skills, teamwork, and sportsmanship while enjoying fresh air and active play. It’s been a term full of variety, learning, and smiles!

Miss Cassie, Miss Lynne, Miss Claire, Amity, Donald, Elena, Eve and Matthew ?

EY2

It’s been great start to Term 3 in EY2, with lots of fun learning and exciting experiences! 

Horse riding (RDA) has commenced, and we are happy to share that every single PREPPY demonstrated such wonderful safe and respectful behaviour while waiting for their turn, lining up on the ramp and mounting their horse. Please make sure to apply for the government PLAY ON voucher by visiting https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/sports/funding/playon/apply   to cover the cost of RDA.

Students have enjoyed building their skills at soccer with Coach Tim.  We have engaged in many soccer drills – penguin egg and waddle being our favourite so far.

 In English we have enjoyed our book of the week and rhyme of the week; especially the cooking activity that goes along with it. So far, our favourite has been the I’M A LITTLE TEAPOT tea party in which we enjoyed a nice warm cuppa and a teacup bickie and UFO tacos what went along side the counting rhyme 5 LITTLE MEN IN A FLYING SAUCER.

In Maths we have looked at simple  patterns using cereal (although some of us ate the “goods” before the pattern was make) and looked at number patterns during counting songs to identify the number that came next.

Finally in Science we have made use of the various weather conditions we have experienced over the past several weeks in which we made and flew kites during particularly strong winded afternoons and jumped in puddles and used umbrellas to keep us dry.

EY3 Newsletter

What a fantastic start we have had to Semester 2! Our focus has been all about getting back into routine and continuing to learn about our school rules and expectations. The students are engaging in many hands-on learning experiences in Literacy as we discover the sound focus of the week. We are mixing up our learning with interactive on the smartboard, group games (to practise turn-taking) and hands on with a variety of resources and materials. Our 1:1 reading has been a very successful afternoon activity as the students sit down and interact with the same book every day, creating routine and familiarity. Lots of incidental learning has been brought in moments like these!

In Maths, the students have been enjoying writing numerals, counting forwards and backwards and we are beginning to explore patterns in our environment.

We have started a lovely craft display in the classroom which showcases the letters of the week and books of the week. This has been a lot of fun to participate with making different things and experiencing sensory elements. Even though there has been a lot of sickness, we have carried on and made the most of every learning opportunity.

We are looking forward to Pyjama Day this Friday, Book Week Dress Up Day next Friday and we get to visit the Ardy shop this week to spend our well-deserved Ardy tickets. Yay!

EY3

Monique, Kate, Jaidyn, Sophia, Marky and Indiana

Striving for more in EY4

A lot can change in a few weeks, and we congratulate the students on their resilience as we said “Goodbye” to Miss Catherine and welcomed Miss Rachel as classroom Teacher on Monday’s and Fridays. We are so grateful to have Miss Nairda as our incredible Teacher’s Aide to provide consistency with the regular routines our students thrive on. We have found that faces may change but predictable routines allow students to adapt better when they know what to expect. Life is unpredictable but having some routines in our day that stay the same makes all the difference to self regulation.

This Friday we recognise our commitment to being safe, respectful learners and celebrate with a pyjama/onesie wearing day. We’ll be snuggly and warm on Friday, but we’ve had some cool starts to the mornings and recommend keeping a jumper or jacket in school bags for protection against light winds on the playground. There continues to be lots of coughs, colds and viruses around so please allow children to rest and recover at home to prevent the spread.

Patterns are our Math focus this semester and we have so much fun racing each other to make repeating patterns on paper and with all sorts of manipulatives. We really enjoy exploring all the different materials and things we can use to make the same pattern in various ways. We will continue to experiment with number and quantity for the rest of the school year. While some of us need more time on one-to-one correspondence, the alignment between number and corresponding quantity that can be represented in different ways such as numerals, tally marks and dots on a dice, others are grouping items together to make simple addition sums or taking away from a set total to explore subtraction, more and less.

Improving literacy outcomes is the whole school focus with every student receiving instruction according to their individual needs. In our class, we are beginning to recognise that 2 letters can make one sound. Each day we review our single letter sounds and investigate a new digraph each week. We have investigated th, sh and ch. There are lots of tricky digraphs to come, but the more we see, hear and say them, the easier they become. Our small class sizes create the perfect environment for students to find their personal best way to learn to decode letters and sounds into simple words with meaning. Reading and writing looks different for everyone. Some of our students use Velcro letters, some traditional writing tools like textas and pencils and others enjoy the feel and sound of magnetic letters.

Exploring night, day and temperature changes in science allows for lots of creative freedom even when using the same materials. We love how we all had the same choice of cut out shapes to make a picture of a sunny day, yet every one is as unique as we are. This time of year is perfect for exploring temperature changes – all in the one day!

Miss Rachel and Miss Nairda are busy planning our decorated door for Bookweek. Being read to is one of our favourite past times and we can usually talk Miss Nairda into reading us a story at least twice each day, so we are very excited to see all our friends dressed up for the Bookweek parade next week. We highly recommend encouraging your child to choose a book for either a parent or older sibling to read to them each day. Children’s audio books are another way to encourage a love of literacy and there are free audio book applications available through Gympie Regional Library.

Take care of you and yours.

Until next time

Miss Jodie, Miss Rachel, Miss Nairda and students of EY4.

Week 5 Term 3 Newsletter Article EY5

What a wonderful couple of weeks it’s been in Early Years 5! I am fast getting to know all the students and we have been doing a lot of learning already. It was great to either meet you for ICP meetings or talk with you over the phone.

EY5 have been busy participating in rhymes, chants and songs. So far, this term we have looked at two rhyming stories ‘Poems of the Week’ together. The first one was ‘On the Ning Nang Nong’. The students decided to create a new version of that story and replaced cows with cats, zebras with monkeys and fleas instead of mice. It was still such a noisy place to belong!

Our next book to read and enjoy was ‘What Noise Comes from a Giraffe?’. Our new version of that book was titled ‘What Noise Comes from a Kangaroo?’. The students have really enjoyed using expression and reading their books. Many have chosen to read the book independently when having their brain break time.

We have also learnt nursery rhymes throughout the weeks. We have learnt the rhyme and incorporated movement, games, craft and some of our upcoming rhymes we will be cooking! Our letters of the week have involved many songs and craft. I wonder if you can guess some of our letters from our photos…

Within mathematics, we have been looking at patterns. We have identified the repeating parts of the pattern and continued the pattern. Students have also been creating their own patterns using concrete materials. Some of these created patterns are also helping with their fine motor skills. In number, we have been revising numbers 1 to 10, counting forwards and backwards. We have been making addition stories using hands on manipulates.

In Science we have been looking at the weather and how it influences their daily lives. We have made observations about what they can see, hear and feel inside the classroom and outside in the playground. We have described the weather using words and symbols. We have also identified the clothing used for different kinds of weather.

This term, Coach Tim has been concentrating on soccer skills. The students have learnt some skills where they are encouraged to only use their feet. We are honing our skills and making slow but steady progress.

Thank you to all the parents and carers who have kept us informed via the communication diary about at home happenings and updates. There is still another five weeks of fun before the term ends so keep reading those diaries and check your calendars for ongoing events and special news. Your continued support, communication and dedication is valued and so very much appreciated.

Thanking You from Miss Renae and Miss Codie

P1 Newsletter

We have started some fun new learning in English with words chaining and a more intense focus on Heart Words - those pesky words that we can’t sound out because they are said differently to how they are written. Finding them from the mix of words on a table then swatting them with a hand shaped swatter has really helped get them in our heads. We are loving our exploration of Poetry so far, though some days one of the adults in the room gets stuck in rhyming mode and every sentence out of her mouth rhymes!

We are also having a great time with our reading and now have dedicated time every afternoon where students read to the class before Miss Jo finishes off with some bigger books. So far we have read ‘The cat on the mat is flat” and ‘The big fat cow that went KAPOW!’. Next on the list is ‘The Bad Book’ before we embark on the Treehouse’ series. New to our room beanbags are a big hit for this and have really helped with turn taking and sharing.

In Maths, patterns and numbers are being eagerly explored in a variety of ways, probably the favourite is always building patterns with blocks, though gluing Pattern Pants was fun.

Science is always fun and we are especially enjoying exploring the effect of the sun’s position on our shadows. We look so tall when we trace our shadows in the morning, even one of our students stuffed toy, Oreo had her shadow traced.

Tree planting day gave us a chance to get in the garden and get our hands dirty while we added a new plant outside our office.

Jo, Bree and Declan

Boy does time fly when you’re having fun!  And we have certainly been having fun in P2.

Today we have a pyjama/onesie PBL rewards day. The kids have enjoyed seeing teachers and teacher aids in their jammies!

Lots of learning has been happening in our classroom. One focus has been on patterns in maths. The children have really enjoyed making different patters with blocks and teddies as well as using our interactive whiteboard to make patterns. In science we have been investigating day and night and the sort of activities we do in the day and at night.

We have done some crafts to go along with some of our books of the week. Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas was a fan favourite. The Wonky Donkey always gets lots of laughs. Alpacas With Maracas has been a big hit this week.

We have been busy bees preparing out decorations for our classroom door for book week. Our theme this year is adventure.  Please remember that book week is next week.  We will have a special celebration on Thursday the 21^st from 9am-10:30am. Students are welcome to come dressed as their favourite book character and you are also invited to dress up and join your student in the parade. We will then come back to our classroom to read a story and do an activity before visiting the book fair. Please RSVP to either us or by calling the office by the 19^th.

Our lovely teacher Jennie has been away for two weeks overseas in Singapore competing in the World Aquatic Master Championships. She has done an amazing job and we can’t wait to have her back with us next week and hear about her grand adventure.

We can’t wait to see you next week at our celebration.

Sarah, Kruze, Elliot, Isaiah and Naomi

Hello from P3

Already Week 5, wow!!! The students in P3 continue working hard at curriculum activities and also working on developing excellent social skills and doing school in general. In Maths we continue working on improving our number skills and we are creating exciting patterns with various objects and other resources. Our focus is on rhyming and discovering the joy of reading.

In Science we have been observing the differences between Day and Night, objects we see in the sky and looking at our own shadows and that of other objects.

Week 6 we have Book Week, and the theme is, “Going on an Adventure”. Don’t forget we have our parents and carers invited to this parade. It will be exciting. Friday Week 6 is cupcake Day for RSPCA, gold coin donation. Friday the 22nd is National Day of Action against Bullying & Violence. Wear ORANGE. In Week 9, we have our excursion to the library.

Carina and Andrea

Hello from P4,

Wow, what a cracking Term 3. We begin with Book Week coming up on Thursday, Week 6. Don’t forget we have our parents and carers invited to this parade. It will be exciting. Friday Week 6 is cupcake Day for RSPCA, gold coin donation. Friday the 22^nd is National Day of Action against Bullying & Violence. Wear ORANGE. In Week 9, we have our excursion to the library.

Huge congratulations to Taten for making it to the Nationals for athletics. Looking forward to hearing how Taten goes.

I am continually amazed by our learners as they navigate each subject with competence and wonder. We have been using ‘Book Creator’ to record our observations in science. I have a feeling the students will be teaching me a thing or two as they improve their knowledge and skills to create online books about the weather, and the rotation of the earth.

We are mastering a range of patterns in maths. In addition, our number work is increasing as the learners master a range of strategies to calculate and partition numbers.

More news and pics to come,

Koby, Rose, Skylah, Taten and Trinity, Steve and Deb.

Chappy News

RSPCA Cupcake Day

This term the school is selling cupcakes to raise money for RSPCA. In the past year alone, RSPCA Queensland have offered a second chance at life to 45 043 animals, who were trapped, injured, ill, lost, surrendered, or cruelly treated. Please see the attached flier for more information.

Brekky Club

Brekky Club is being offered a few mornings a week in Clyde’s Corner. Students have enjoyed Vegemite, jam and marmalade toast, orange and honey pikelets, fresh fruit, and french toast. As well as ensuring that students start their school day with full bellies, brekky club has been a great opportunity for me to get to chat with many students.

Essentials Hampers

Hampers consisting of pantry and household essentials are regularly given out to school families, with all families having the chance to receive one. Recently, Indiana and Tyson and their families were the lucky recipients. Thanks to Vinnies Gympie for providing us with these hampers at a low cost.

What’s on with Chappy!

Throughout the term, I run activities for students during first break on Thursday. At the moment, Girls’ Group – made up of Secondary and Senior students - are icing cupcakes for RSPCA Cupcake Day. During Weeks 7 to 10, though, I’ll be running a drumming group for Primary, Secondary, and Senior students.

Gympie Region Support Services

The school has a directory of support services available in the Gympie region if you are needing assistance, advice or information. It has listings for:

• 24-Hour 7-Day support
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
• Carers
• Children and young people
• Children’s and youth activities
• Disability
• Disaster management and recovery
• Drug and alcohol abuse
• Families
• Domestic and family violence
• General
• Grief and bereavement
• Health
• Homelessness
• LGBTIQ+
• Mental health
• Migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers
• Sexual assault and violence
• Things to do and see in the Gympie region.

All staff have online access to the directory and a hard copy is available at the office.

My role is to support the wellbeing of staff, students, parents, and others in our school community. If you ever need to have a chat or help with something, please contact me on the school number – 5480 2333. My new work hours are Tuesdays (7.30am-10.35am) and Thursdays (7.00am-12.05pm), and I can also be contacted via email – rsdri0@eq.edu.au.

Chappy Rachel

S1 has seen positive engagement from students with the teaching and learning activities so far this term. Students are demonstrating clear progress in skill development across Maths, Literacy, Science, and Social/Emotional learning. We are currently trialling a Level 2 Maths group one day per week, and it is proving to be very successful. This week, S1 hosted the session, with students completing many pages of maths work and showing strong focus throughout the lesson.

Starting back at school this term, creativity was flowing as we continued to paint our canvas artworks for the Mary Velly Art Festival – each piece showcasing the students’ unique ideas and talents. All students who participated received a certificate. Some other highlights so far have been engaging in our new curriculum topics, soccer with Coach Tim on Wednesdays and visiting the Community Expo. At the Community Expo S2 students enjoyed engaging with community members and collecting gift bags that were on offer.

This semester students will have Miss Deb and Miss Amanda on Tuesday mornings for Digital Technology and HASS. We will be learning about space and Earth in Science and have so far enjoyed exploring the solar system and making cookie planets, investigating the difference in sizes between each planet. We will continue building our skills while exploring poetry in English, and have already made a strong start on our Maths with students working hard on partitioning numbers and exploring addition and subtraction strategies.

It's been a busy and exciting start, and we're looking forward to more hands-on learning in the weeks ahead!

Amy and Jasmine

S3 Newsletter – Term 3, Week 5

It’s been great start to Term 3 in S3, with lots of fun learning and community experiences!  Students have enjoyed building their skills at soccer with Coach Tim.  They’ve engaged in drills and finished off with variations of a soccer game. These sessions have been a great way to practise resilience (especially when the other team takes the ball!), confidence in trying new things, and social skills like passing, sharing, and congratulating others.

A huge congratulations to Maddie A for placing 3rd in the Mary Valley Art Festival, and to Arley, whose artwork was also selected for display—what an achievement!

S3 also had a blast at the Community Connections Expo. It was a fantastic opportunity to meet local service providers and community members—and of course, the goody bags were a big hit! Thank you to the parents who came along and joined us.

Book Week Dress-Up Day is coming up on Thursday, 28 August. We’re looking forward to seeing all the creative costumes and class door displays!

Our new science unit is all about Earth and Space. It involves inquiry-based learning and begins with the question ‘How does the Earth cause day and night?  So far, the students have been measuring the amount of daylight hours. We experienced the Winter Solstice with 11 hours and 20 minutes of daytime on the 26^th of June and as of this Friday, we will have 11 hours and 58 minutes of daytime.  The students have learned how to observe and record changes. They observed an ice cube melting to reveal hidden objects and watched capillary action moving water through a piece of string, from one container to the next. This led to the students learning how to annotate a diagram or photograph.  The sky has been our focus, and we are building two dioramas – one representing the sky and the other the Solar System. This has been lots of fun. The students also recreated their own moon surface by making moon craters and discovered that the Sun is a star!  Science is FUN!

Thanks for keeping up with all that’s happening in S3.
From all of us: Baxter, Leni, Maddee, Maddie, Arley, Sabana, Gaelle and Andy

We have settled back into our daily routines and are enjoying the changes to our curriculum this semester. Our specialist teachers, Miss Deb and Miss Amanda are taking HASS and Digital Technology on Tuesdays and Coach Tim is taking Soccer each Wednesday. Our students have enjoyed the lovely winter mornings outside, improving their soccer skills. We look forward to our Parent Engagement Day in Week 8 where we will demonstrate our skills and play a game with our parents and carers.

We continue our literacy development with a focus on responding to humourous poetry and rhyming texts, whilst also writing our own poems using given nouns or adjectives as a stimulus. We do our daily phonics development, individualised spelling lists and reading of levelled and/or decodable texts, finishing off with “Beat the Tiger.” It is great to see the gains we have made in these areas and our thoughtful responses to comprehension questions. We are currently enthusiastic in learning about the Solar System and working on our Moonscape door for Book Week in Week 6. Meanwhile, in maths we are partitioning single and double-digit numbers using unifix blocks and discovering as many combinations as we can!

Recently, Max and Leah created beautiful paintings to enter in the Mary Valley Art festival. Both received certificates for their efforts. Well done!

Warm regards,

Libby, Michelle, Thomas, Max, Leah, Heath, Daniel and Chris

Hello Families!

We’ve had an out-of-this-world semester filled with creativity, discovery, and hands-on learning! Here’s a little peek into what we’ve been up to in the classroom:

Our new science unit has launched, and the students are loving it! We’ve been learning all about Earth, the Sun, and the planets in our solar system. Ask your child which planet is their favourite — we’ve had some great conversations comparing sizes, temperatures, and distances from the Sun! To bring our learning to life, we’ve started creating our own solar system dioramas! The students are designing and crafting their planets with care, and we can’t wait to see the final results.

To celebrate our solar system learning, we got creative in the kitchen (and a little messy too!) by making and decorating planet cookies. Each student chose a planet to design using colourful icing — a tasty and educational treat!

In English, we’ve dived into the world of poetry! We're exploring rhyme, rhythm, and repetition, and the students have been writing their own rhyming verses. It’s been so lovely hearing their voices come through in their poems — and the giggles that come with silly rhymes!

In Maths, we’ve started working on place value, focusing on 2-digit numbers and how to partition them into tens and ones. Using blocks, drawings, and number games, students are developing a solid understanding of how numbers are made. This will set us up for strong number work moving forward.

Thank you for your continued support. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or just want to check in on how your child is progressing.

Let’s keep reaching for the stars! ⭐

Warm regards,

Miss Riane, Miss Naomi, Miss Tracy and the Secondary 5 Class

Term three has kicked off with huge creativity including number sense through ordering and partitioning tasks using part-part-whole for partitioning. During English we are using rap music for rhyming word work in poetry, with great enthusiasm. In Science we are learning about the solar system with hands on activities such as our planet icing biscuits, exploring appearance and size of planets. What a fun and rich way to anchor learning! Students attended the Community Connections Expo and enjoyed meeting people from the community and receiving pamphlets and goodie bags. Students have been attending weekly soccer lessons with Coach Tim and enjoying developing game skills. Our weekly STEM and Craft groups focus on friendship skills, with activities like our marshmallow and spaghetti towers.

Linda, Chrissie, Dante, Ky, Locklan, Laila, Rebekah, Azalia

Reading Update

Once again, our incredible staff have come together for the benefit of students, and we were blown away by the resourceful ways teachers are planning for and delivering literacy instruction to our diverse student population. Our classrooms are dynamic spaces so sharing resources and lesson plans provides opportunities to adapt them for individuals in other classes without adding to teacher workload. It takes a village to raise a reader, and the knowledge, skills and experience of long-term teachers mixed in with early career teachers bringing new ideas and best practice fresh from university creates magic in the classroom.

With the Book Week Fair just around the corner excitement around books and reading is in the air with the Classroom Decorated Door competition creating a buzz in each sector while staff and students plan costumes for the parade. Take advantage of this buzz if you have reluctant readers at home – with books from $3 there is a special kind of ownership that happens when children walk through the decorated library display to choose their own, precious story.

Another way to engage reluctant readers is to create stories based on their personal interests. Many neurodiverse students hyper fixate on a particular thing – trains, cars, superheroes and cartoon characters amongst others. Tap into their active imaginations and support them to write short stories with simple, decodable words to illustrate and “read” back to you. Early readers make meaning from the pictures but will often recognise words with repetition.

If you have a teen obsessed with a song or artist, how about researching song lyrics? Each step you take on the literacy pathway with your child supports the formalised lessons in the classroom taking them further in their own journey toward whatever independence looks like for them.

Happy Reading

Jodie Sargeant

Expert Reading Team Leader

Senior News

Welcome!

Hello everyone,
We’ve had a wonderful few weeks filled with learning and creativity. It’s been fantastic to see students engaging enthusiastically in all activities—both in and out of the classroom. Here’s a look at what’s been happening and what’s coming up next.

✈️ Travel & Excursions

• Mary Street – Students are excited about our upcoming visit.
• Sunshine Coast Airport – A great chance to explore and learn about reading different timetables as well as following community rules.
• Eumundi Markets – Our crafting and art group can’t wait to find inspiration and materials.

⛺ Week 7 Camp

• Dates: Monday 18^th, Tuesday 19^th and Wednesday 20^th August.
• Students will enjoy three exciting days filled with activities, teamwork, and outdoor adventures.
• Get ready for an unforgettable experience!

☕ Snack Attack Café

• Week 3 Success – We welcomed many visitors and loved seeing so many friendly faces.
• Next Café – Planned for Week 8- Wednesday 3^rd September. We look forward to hosting you again!

Literacy – Book Week

• Theme: “Book and Adventure”
• Encourage your child to share which book they’ve chosen.
• Activities have inspired creativity and a love for reading.

➗ Maths Focus

We are learning practical and everyday skills, including:

• Time & Timetables
• Money Skills
• Functional Maths for real-life situations

RRE – Building Empathy

In RRE, students have been focusing on:

• Understanding Empathy – What it means and why it matters in relationships.
• Recognising Emotions – Learning to identify different emotions in themselves and others.
• Strategies for Empathy – Practising ways to respond with care and understanding in different situations.

⚽ Soccer with Coach Tim

• Every Wednesday afternoon, students have been training with Coach Tim.
• Focus has been on improving micro skills such as dribbling, passing, and ball control.
• We’ve seen fantastic progress and growing confidence in everyone’s soccer abilities!

Ali’s Shed & Compass Adventures!
Every Monday, our students have been rolling up their sleeves at Ali’s Shed and exploring new horizons with Compass.
From hands-on projects to inspiring conversations, they’ve been building strong connections with community members and enjoying some truly fantastic activities.

We’re looking forward to the exciting weeks ahead and can’t wait to share more updates with you soon!

The Senior Team, Kate, Liz, Gavin, Dana, Jane and Kerri.

Qkr now available

Gympie Special School is excited to offer all parents the ability to order and pay for your child’s school items using your smartphone, tablet or computer. The new Qkr (pronounced ‘quicker’) by MasterCard application is a secure and easy way to make school payments at your convenience. We encourage all parents to use Qkr as it reduces the need to send cash to school or attend in person, and receipts are automatically generated that can be easily retrieved on the app or sent to your email. Apart from making life easier for families, it also significantly streamlines operations with the school.

What can be ordered and paid for via Qkr?

• School fees, charges, levies
• Uniforms
• Camps, excursions, incursions
• Fundraisers
• Event tickets

The Qkr app can be downloaded for free from Apple’s app store for iPhones (iPads to download iPhone version) or from Google Play for Android phones and tablets.

The Qkr ‘How-to’ Guide from the school shows you how to download the app, register yourself and your children, and pay for a variety of school items.

There will be more items available for payment over time. We will be providing additional information to families over the coming months as we move to online payments within the school.