Friday Flash Week 5 - 23rd of May 2025
From the Principal
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
What a wonderful morning we had at our Early Years Expo last week as we celebrated Under 8s Week! This year’s theme, “Unleashing Scientific Thinking Through Play,” brought science to life for our youngest learners. Children explored exciting hands-on activities including making rockets, digging for dinosaurs, and erupting volcanoes.
A huge thank you to our amazing staff and families who contributed to the event, and to our special guests from the Queensland Fire Service, Girl Guides, and School Plus. It was fantastic to see so many parents and caregivers joining in the fun!
Looking ahead, we have some exciting Student Council and Ecomarines events coming up. These programs offer our upper-year students opportunities to demonstrate leadership, have a voice in school initiatives, and make a meaningful impact on our community. These roles help bring our Learning Assets to life—supporting our students to be courageous, collaborative, and responsible learners.
This week, we will be sending home Term 1 Attendance Certificates. To receive a certificate each term, students must achieve soaring attendance—that is, over 95%. You can keep track of your child’s attendance rate through the QParents app.
At the end of each year, we present our prestigious Soaring Awards. These celebrate students who consistently demonstrate our highest expectations. This year, the criteria have been updated in line with changes to our Curriculum and Reporting framework:
✅ Soaring Attendance – 95% attendance or above
✅ Soaring Behaviour – 'A' level behaviour on the report card
✅ Soaring Effort – An average 'A' level effort rating on the report card
These awards are criteria-based so that students can clearly understand our expectations and set personal goals. These expectations are reinforced daily during morning circles in every classroom.
Exciting Grounds Improvements Underway!
Over the past few weeks, you may have noticed some maintenance and upgrades taking place around our school. We’ve begun removing a few existing garden areas to create more open play spaces for our students. This may impact the flow of movement, traffic and car parks over the upcoming months so we really appreciate your support, understanding and following the procedures so this can go smoothly
Later this term, we’ll be starting two exciting projects:
An upgrade to our Tuckshop, making it more accessible and functional
A brand-new play space beside the oval, inspired by Nature Play principles
A screenshot of this exciting new design is included below. This area will offer children an engaging and active space to play, promoting creativity, exploration and social interaction.
In addition, we’ll also be making enhancements to our larger nature play area, Urimbirra, to continue supporting our strategic focus on nature-based learning.
At Amberley District State School, nature play is an important part of our curriculum. Our outdoor learning environments are designed to enrich classroom experiences, boost student engagement, and help children develop their Learning Assets—such as being curious thinkers, collaborators, and self-managers.
We look forward to seeing our students enjoying these exciting new spaces soon!
Thank you for your continued support. Have a wonderful week!
Kind regards,
Kelli Harvey
Playground Upgrade
What's On Next Week
- Monday: Choir - all grades 1st break. First Nations Dance Group - Second break. Henny Penny hatching program week 2 (prep). Prep Vision Screening (M-W)
- Tuesday: Strings Ensemble 7:50am. Yr 1 Wildlife Rangers.
- Wednesday: Boys soccer training. Choir 1st break. Band 2nd Break. Netball training 3.10 - 4pm in hall. Jersey Day - First Origin Match. Tuckshop Donut Day. Instrumental Music.
- Thursday: Rugby league training 8am. Girl's soccer training first/second break on oval. Little Jets 9am in Base. Lunchtime disco. Yr 4 Excursion to Darling Downs Zoo
- Friday: Flashtastic Friday assembly
We also have Breakfast Club and Running Club every morning!
Wellbeing and Engagement
Defence Mentor
School Attendance
Our School attendance rate is currently 91.7%. Our goal is 95%.
Students who have 95% or above attendance each term will receive a SOARING attendance certificate.
Please contact your year level Deputy Principal, if you need support with attendance at school. Unexplained absence letters are deployed twice a term. You can update attendance through the QParents app.
Payments Due
Save the Date
👁️ 26–28 May – Prep Vision Screening
Queensland Health will be conducting vision tests for Prep students. Parent consent is required.
🏉 28 May – Jersey Day
Wear your favourite team jersey to show your sporting spirit!
🦁 29 May – Year 4 Excursion to Darling Downs Zoo
A wild learning adventure for our Year 4 students!
🌏 🐠 5 June – Ecomarines: World Environment Day
Celebrating sustainability and marine life with our Ecomarines.
📸 10 & 11 June – School Photos
Sibling, class, and individual photos will be taken. More information to come soon.
🎶 11 June – Music Alfresco
Students will showcase their musical talents in a relaxed outdoor setting for families to enjoy.
Tuckshop news
Music News
Library News
Sport News
Student Council
Flash's Favourites
Flashtastic Alex R in action at districts. ADSS is so proud of your achievements!
Early Years Expo
OSHC
Friendly Reminders
Don't forget to download the Schoolzine App to so you can access all school communications in a centralised location. Please click here to find instructions on SZapp app installation. After you select Amberley District State School enter PassCode 7242. There is also a link to the left to download.
