The first three weeks back at school have been very busy but highly productive for both the staff and student body.

Week 2 saw our Arts Transition Program with Baringa Secondary College take place which involved a significant number of Year 5 and 6 students from the school join students from Nirimba Primary and Baringa Secondary college in participating in a range of art and cultural experiences at the college including dance, band, choir, drama and visual arts. Feedback from those students who attended was really positive with the final culminating evening a wonderful showcase of talent. My thanks to Mr Matt Sampson, Mr Scott Gaske and Mrs Fiona Harris for their support, time and effort in the implementation of the program again this year. A great experience for all involved.

School Opinion Survey

The annual School Opinion Survey will be conducted 28 July to 22 August 2025. All families, school staff and students in target year levels (5,6) will be invited to participate. We encourage you to take this opportunity to have your say about what our school does well, and how we can improve. An invitation to complete the Parent/Caregiver Survey will be emailed to one parent/caregiver per family. The invitation will be sent from the Department of Education, not the school, and it will have the subject line - School Opinion Survey for parents and caregivers, 2025. 

Please check your junk email folders if you can’t find it. The survey can be completed as soon as the invitation is received and will take approximately 5 minutes using a computer, tablet or smart phone. Keep an eye out for yours! Parents/caregivers who do not have access to the internet at home are welcome to complete their survey online at the school. Please contact the office to arrange.

Semester One 2025 Academic Outcomes

Our Semester One student reports show really positive results across the board. See individual cohort and sector data below.

From my perspective it is great to see so many of our students reach their academic potential in the core subjects of English and Mathematics. My thanks to the teaching team for their support and effort here to achieve these gaols for our kids.

Custody or Family Court Matters

Family law related disputes should not happen at schools as they disrupt the good order and management of the school. Schools are meant to promote a safe, secure learning and teaching environment for students and staff. They are not the place to resolve matters that can more properly be resolved privately or in the Family Court External link.

It is not the role of the school to resolve disputes between parents, for example, disputes about the arrangements for the collection of children from school premises, or the contact or time a child has with a parent.

Parents who may be involved in complex family matters are asked  to try and resolve their differences through a family relationship centre External link, a family law service External link, a family dispute resolution service External link or the Family court External link.

Bike, Scooter and Pedestrian safety  

A reminder to everyone of the importance of discussing with your child the road rules if using a bike or scooter when travelling to school and of the necessity of wearing a helmet when riding a bike or scooter to school. Wearing a helmet significantly reduces the risk of head injuries and ensures our students' well-being. Please make sure that you speak with your child about this and road safety as a matter of importance.

Complaints Management

During the course of your children’s school years, you may have cause to make a complaint about an issue with your child’s education. At Baringa we are committed to ensuring that all complaints are dealt with in a fair and equitable manner. There are processes and support structures in place to enable parents/carers and students to work through any issues they may have with Education Queensland provisions.

When making a complaint, it is in the best interest of complaint resolution to ensure that you:

• provide complete and factual information
• deliver your complaint in writing in a non-threatening and non-abusive manner and
• do not make frivolous or vexatious complaints or include deliberately false or misleading information.

The following procedure may assist parents/carers, and school staff to reach an outcome that is in the best interests of the student:

1. Discuss your complaint with the class teacher
2. Make an appointment to discuss your complaint with the Principal/Deputy Principal or ask the Principal/Deputy Principal to assist by participating in informal conflict resolution.

With matters that occur outside of school which may affect families or students’ parents are asked to communicate their concern to the school for possible resolution. Parents should not be approaching students other than their own children to reprimand them or their behaviour.

Please let us know if we can help here.

Interschool Sport

Best of luck to our Year 6 students who commence Interschool Sport next Friday August 8. I am sure that the kids will have a great day out and represent the school with pride.

Just a reminder -  Proposed Industrial Action

Please be advised that members of the Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) at Baringa State Primary School have notified the Department of Education of their intention to participate in a 24-hour stop work action on Wednesday, 6 August 2025.

As a result of this decision a majority of teachers have indicated that they will not be attending school on Wednesday, 6 August 2025 due to taking part in the statewide strike related to ongoing Teachers’ enterprise bargaining negotiations between the Department and the QTU.

The safety and wellbeing of students remain our highest priority, as does ensuring that appropriate supervision is provided to students attending school during the industrial action.

I want to reassure you that while there will be a reduced number of school staff onsite during this day of industrial action, arrangements have been made to ensure students who attend are supported. Please be assured that the school will remain open during this time, though it is highly likely that your child will not be supervised by their regular classroom teacher.

To support the school in preparing for next Wednesday’s industrial action I would ask each family to click on the link below or click on the QR code at the bottom of the page, follow the prompts and complete the survey on attendance as soon as possible.
This survey information will be used to record student absences for Wednesday 6 August.

https://forms.office.com/r/EHXRyqLfYi

More communication will come out early next week to confirm the location to drop your child Wednesday, 6 August if they are attending school.

I understand the inconvenience this may cause families and appreciate your support and consideration as we work through this matter.

Mick