Hello Everyone,

I warmly welcome our new and returning families to the final term of the 2025 school year. With one week already behind us, we have just nine school weeks left to make the most of this year.

Our wonderful Year 6 students are gearing up for their last term of primary school, and I wish them all the very best as they make the most of this important time.

Remember our three expectations: be safe, be respectful, be a learner — these guide us all to a positive and productive term. On assembly, I often remind students that our staff—teachers and teacher aides—are the facilitators of learning, but it is the students who choose to participate. Term 4 often seems to fly by, so I urge all students to put in the effort to finish the year strongly.

I would also like to thank our parent community for the continued support you provide to our students and school.

Please join me in welcoming Nadine Schiewe, our new Deputy Principal, who is stepping in for Maree Harris, and Carlie Schmitt, who is replacing Nicole Buttenshaw. We are excited to have them both on board!

On Tuesday, our next group of budding captains participated in speeches and the student voting process. I spoke with all candidates about what makes a good leader, often highlighting that effective communication, representing peers, and active participation in school activities are key qualities.

Congratulations to all students who competed in the TCN Swimming Carnival — you represented our school with great effort and pride. Well done also to our band students who recently participated in the regional band camp; I hope everyone enjoyed the experience. This Thursday, our strings students will take part in the regional strings camp — such opportunities enrich our students' education and help create a well-rounded school experience.

In facilities news, our Nature Playground has now reopened. The school contributed $60,000 to ensure the playground meets all safety standards, preserving this fantastic facility originally funded by our P&C. We’ve also received confirmation that the Upper Years playground has been ordered. This new Ninja-style structure will be built next to H Block (Year 6 building) and is eagerly anticipated by both students and staff as an exciting new addition to our school grounds.

Here’s to a fantastic final term!

Yours in Learning,

Welcome back to Term 4

A warm welcome back to our existing families and new families joining us for Term 4 at Freshwater. I have really enjoyed catching up with our students during the lunch breaks to hear all about their exciting holiday adventures either overseas, down south or details of their staycations in Cairns! It’s hard to believe this is our final term for the year and it’s important that students continue to stay focused and put their very best effort so they can continue to make the most of every learning day. Students have the opportunity to continue growing and learning so they can build on their results from Semester 1 and drive it home in Semester 2.

RAK Club

We had a great turn out of students from lower and upper school attend the RAK club this week. Students enjoyed watching a story first, Kindness is My Superpower by Alicia Ortego, which explores what kindness is, why it’s important to be kind and examples of what kindness looks like in practice. We discussed how Lucas showed kindness in the story and how it made him feel when he was kind. Students then shared examples with the group of when they have been kind and how it made them feel. Students then decorated a flower, writing examples of how they have shown kindness on the leaves or petals. Thank you to Nellie in Year 6 for bringing in your amazing books about kindness to share with our club. Nellie will be reading these books to our younger students at the club in Week 3. We look forward to hearing Nellie share these beautiful resources with our students about random acts of kindness. Our flowers are on display in the library near our RAK display and Kindness Tree. Next time you pop into the library, be sure to check out this growing display of kindness that the students are creating and growing each week.

 200 nights of reading in the Lower School

Congratulations to the following students for achieving 200 nights of reading this term. Your determination and reading stamina is outstanding to achieve this milestone. Well done and keep reading.  These students all received the special 200 nights of reading certificate and a new book to enjoy reading!

A special congratulations to Franklin M, who has now hit a mammoth 250 nights of reading.

Remember to keep reading and hitting those amazing milestones so you can get a prize and certificate from Mrs Glaspy in the library! 

• Maggie G
• Leuca W
• Franklin M (250)

 Prep 2026

Last term we started welcoming our new Prep students for 2026 into our school for our Interactive Prep enrolments. Many thanks to all our families for making time in your busy schedules to attend these enrolment interviews and actively participate. We know that providing these orientation and transition opportunities is crucial to creating a smooth entry into formal education and starting ‘big school’ at Freshwater. We look forward to meeting and connecting with the students again this term when we offer further opportunities to connect with a classroom visit, nature play or a library visit. Later in the term we will commence our Kindy visits with myself and a member of the Prep team to share our Big Book about Freshwater and reconnect with our Pre-Prep students at their respective kindy’s. 

The following websites are great resources for families who are commencing Prep in 2026.

https://earlychildhood.qld.gov.au/earlyYears/Documents/enrolling-in-prep-checklist.pdf

https://earlychildhood.qld.gov.au/early-years/transitions/moving-to-school/supporting-positive-transitions

 Transition Statements

Your child’s kindergarten program provider will be preparing their Kindergarten transition statements in November. The statements are all about your child’s learning and development in Kindy and will include your suggestions to support your child’s positive transition from Kindy to school. You and your child will have an opportunity to contribute to the statements and include information about their unique strengths, abilities and motivations. Click the link below to find out more about transition statements.

https://earlychildhood.qld.gov.au/early-years/transitions/moving-to-school/transition-statements

Prep GW are amazing writers

The students in Prep GW have been working hard this term and learning how to write a retell of some popular stories like ‘The Three Little Pigs’ and ‘The Three Billy Goats Gruff’. We are so proud of their writing and how amazing and neat their handwriting is. Congratulations to Mrs Wyatt and PGW for your sensational writing samples. Keep up the great work!  

Kind regards,

As Deputy Principal at Freshwater, I continue to be inspired by the warmth, pride and community spirit that make our school such a special place. Although I am new to both the school and the Cairns area, the welcome I have received from students, staff and families has been exceptional. It’s clear that Freshwater is a community that values connection, kindness and learning. Every day, I see our students embodying our PBL values — Be Safe, Be Respectful, and Be a Learner — through their actions and attitudes both in and out of the classroom. It is a privilege to work alongside such a dedicated team and caring community, supporting every student to reach their potential and develop a lifelong love of learning.

It has been wonderful to see all our students settle back into their learning routines with such enthusiasm and focus. Classrooms are buzzing with curiosity, collaboration and determination as students strive to achieve their personal best. Across all year levels, we are seeing fantastic examples of academic excellence.  From creative writing and problem-solving to deep thinking and teamwork. Our teachers are so proud of the positive learning habits students are demonstrating each day and it’s clear that their commitment to Being Safe, Being Respectful, and Being a Learner is helping them shine both academically and personally.

Room on the Broom 

Please see below some Year 5 pre-assessments for their English 'Room on the Broom'

Leadership Speeches

Congratulations to all our students who presented their leadership speeches this week. Each of you demonstrated courage, confidence and a genuine desire to make a positive difference at Freshwater State School. Taking part in this process helps build important life skills such as public speaking, self-reflection and resilience. While not everyone can be selected for a leadership position, every student who stepped up to share their ideas and vision has achieved something significant. We are incredibly proud of the effort, enthusiasm and maturity shown by all our candidates. 

Kind Regards,

Nadine Scheiwe
Deputy Principal Yr 4-6

Before and After School Procedures

A reminder to all families that our school day runs from 8:50am to 2:50pm.

If your child arrives at school before 8:00am or remains on school grounds after 3:15pm on a regular basis, we kindly ask that you consider enrolling them in our Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) service for their safety and supervision.

In the afternoons, all students are expected to go to Stop, Drop and Go first. After that, any remaining students will be directed to wait outside the school office.
Students should not go directly to the office area at the end of the day unless directed by staff.

We appreciate your support in ensuring all students are safe and accounted for during pick-up times. Please aim to collect your child by 3:15pm, as staff supervision is limited after school hours.

Thank you for helping us keep our school community safe and organised.

Student of the Week (1)

Clubs Flyer 

Kind regards,

Abby, Lexi, Sam and Natasha

Administration Team

Following up on our earlier update, I’m happy to let you know that our Nature Playground is now officially back open and ready for students to enjoy! Thanks to some additional support from the Department of Education, we’ve been able to complete important repairs to make the playground safe and inviting again.

To keep everyone safe and ensure the playground lasts, our works included strengthening pathways, repairing replacing and reoiling wooden features, and reinforcing the mound in what is now our lookout area. While the slide has been removed to protect this important work, the lookout itself continues to be a wonderful place for our students to explore and create. We’re also exploring some exciting ideas for this area and can’t wait to share them with you down the track

As our new plantings and gardens continue to grow, please remind your children to be gentle with them so they can thrive, and everyone can enjoy a beautiful, green space.

In even more exciting news, we are thrilled to share that the Senior Playground project has officially been awarded to a contractor! The Regional Projects team is coordinating everything to bring this fantastic new space to life! While the work won’t be starting immediately, we’re thrilled to share some design photos with you, and as soon as we receive confirmed timelines from the Projects team we’ll keep you fully updated. One of the best features is a brand new hard-roof over the playground – which will be perfect for keeping the kids covered and comfortable during the wet season.

Thank you for your ongoing patience and support. We can’t wait to see our students having fun, and enjoying these beautiful spaces.

Japanese Club

This week was a huge hit! Students came on Thursday and Friday 2nd break to make "hachimaki". This is a type of headband usually made of white or red cloth. They soak up sweat during physical activity so they are often worn on sports day. This weekend in Japan, many schools will be holding their annual sports day.

Prep

Well done to our Prep students who have been learning how to say big and small in Japanese lessons this week.

Year 3-6 Swimming Carnival

The last day or term three saw us enjoy another fantastic Freshie Swimming Carnival at Smithfield Pool! 

• Thanks to Mrs Roxby for all of her work behind the scenes to prepare our swimming program and carnival and recording on the day.
• Thanks to our wonderful Year 3-6 teachers and support teachers for preparing our students so well for the day and their hard work judging, marshalling and supervising.
• Thanks to Mrs Hunter for assisting with the recording and Ms Spriggs for monitoring our first aid on the day.
• Thanks to Mr Hornett for organising, transporting and setting up tents, microphones and the barbecue for us at the pool
• Thanks to Mrs Thimios for being our wonderful starter.
• Thanks to Mrs Harris for her great work on the microphone.
• Thanks to our Sports Captains for organising their house teams and war cries.
• Thanks to our Year 3-6 students who swam their hearts out to earn as many points as possible for their house.
• Thanks to the P&C tuckshop volunteers for feeding us all.
• Thanks to the many parents and family members who came to cheer us all on, in what was a wonderful Swimming Carnival!

This year CROCS are the champion house.

 Crocs – 496

Taipans - 483

Eagles – 448

Marlins – 440

Congratulations also to Lucy 6GH and Molly 6NL for being named our Spirit of Swimming award winners. 

Freshwater State School has a fantastic Swimming Program, culminating with our wonderful Carnival, thanks to the support of every one of our leaders, teachers, teacher aides, the P&C, students and parents. Thank you everyone.

TCN Swimming Carnival

Well done to the Freshie Year 4-6 swim team for their great effort at the TCN Interschool Swimming Carnival at Smithfield pool last week. Many thanks to our parents who attended and supported this event with our swimmers! Extra thanks to Mr Pritchard for assisting the running of the carnival by timekeeping all day.

Football Queensland and Brisbane Roar After School Program

“Freshwater State School is excited to announce that the Football Queensland & Brisbane Roar After School Program is coming to our school starting on Thursday 16 October for 4 weeks after school from 3.00pm – 4.00pm

Key program details can be found in the attached flyer using the QR code. All participants must be registered prior to the clinic starting, using the link below.

Register here: https://registration.squadi.com/userRegistration?organisationId=0f742cbf-573b-412e-8006-8af2cdaf3e83&competitionId=d410fada-b2d1-4be0-9cd8-d82879ba08a2

TCN

Please contact Mrs Knight for information and paperwork.

Thank you,

Musical Notes

This term will be a busy term for our choral and instrumental music groups.  See below the Term 4 Music Activities Timetable.  Please note that the time for Guitar Club has changed and that there is an additional rehearsal time for the Year 6 students of our Senior Choir.

Instrumental Music Update

Over the past two weeks, we have had a large representation of students from our school attend the brass/woodwind/percussion and strings regional music camps held in Cairns along with our instrumental music teachers Ms Jen Fengler and Mr Matthew Coxon.  These camps allow like minded students from the region to work together with specialist instrumental music teachers and conductors to perform repertoire with their peers and experience what it is like to perform in a large ensemble.  

In upcoming weeks, we will be advertising our recruitment process for students wanting to learn an instrument in 2026.  Students going into year 3 in 2026 will be eligible to learn a strings instrument and students going into years 4 and 5 will be eligible to learn a brass/woodwind/percussion instrument.  Your child will have the opportunity to see and hear all of the instruments on offer in a special parade with students who currently play in our programs.  Please continue to watch this space for more information regarding instrumental recruitment. 

Kind regards,

Book Fair – Next Week!

Monday 20^th till Friday 24^th October the Library will be open for our annual fundraiser, Book Fair. Please note that the Fair will close at of 12 noon on Friday 24^th October.

Each class will have the opportunity to visit the Book Fair, with students completing their Wish List. If you would like to purchase items from your student’s Wish List, payment may be made online, cash or card. Parents are welcome before and after school, while students are able to make purchases during First and Second Break as well.

For Online Orders, please follow instructions on the Wish List or the Book Fair Flyer that went home this week. 

With every purchase, you go into the draw to win a $15 book voucher to spend at the Fair. A winner will be drawn each day of our Fair. 

Parent Helpers at Book Fair

If you are available to help during our open times, please contact me aglas28@eq.edu.au

 ‘IT ADDS UP!

If you read just 15 minutes a day,

in one year

you will have read over

1, 000, 000 words!

-Statisticbrain.com-

Yours in literary adventures,

Amanda Glaspy

Library Officer

Welcome Back 

We are excited to be back, please remember you can order lunches via School24 for all tuckshop orders.

All orders are required by 9am on the day, this assists us to prepare for the day.

Please see below or alternatively visit our website for further details: 

 https://freshwaterss.eq.edu.au/facilities/tuckshop

Volunteers

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers who carve out time to assist us in the tuckshop. If you can spare, even if it is an hour. Please come and see us or contact us on the details below. 

Thank you,

A huge thank you to all our current and waitlisted families who have completed their Xplor 2026 Re-Enrolment paperwork ahead of the rebooking process. We truly value your time and effort in completing our new and updated enrolment form — it helps us maintain consistent, accurate records and ensure smooth communication for all families.

Emails have now been sent to families with outstanding paperwork, and we kindly ask that these are finalised as soon as possible, as remaining sessions will soon be offered to waitlisted students.

Parent Information Nights & New Enrolments for 2026

Families interested in enrolling in OSHC for 2026 are invited to attend one of our upcoming Parent Information Nights, held at the OSHC Building.
Attendance is mandatory for new enrolments and recommended for families interested in care.

Our service is currently in its peak processing period, rebooking current families for 2026 and reviewing space availability for waitlisted families.

Please visit the Freshwater State School website to access the OSHC Enrolment Checklist and blank copies of all required documents, which may vary depending on your family’s circumstances.

We greatly appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding during this busy time.

Cassandra Pajor

3-6 Education Leader